Parents’ Practices and Barriers in Reducing Aflatoxins Contamination in Complementary Foods for Children in Central Regions of Tanzania

Ngoma, Selestin Joseph; Tiisekwa, B.; Ngowi, Agatha Fabian; Ngwashemi, Secilia Kapalata; Katalambula, Leonard

doi:10.11648/j.jher.20200603.14

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, some mothers seemed to be knowledgeable about the effect of moisture on stored lishe and reported to dry the flour before storage. This is in line with results from a qualitative study by Ngoma et al (2020) in Tanzania where participants were found to be knowledgeable of the effect of mould or aflatoxin contamination of improperly dried complementary food.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Complementary feeding in Kongwa, Tanzania: Findings to inform a mycotoxin mitigation trial

Mollay

Kassim

Stoltzfus

et al. 2021

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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Complementary feeding of 6-to 24-month-old infants and young children with adequate, safe and developmentally appropriate food is essential to child health.Inappropriate complementary foods and feeding practices are linked to the high incidences of undernutrition among infant and young children in most developing countries, including Tanzania. Mycotoxin risk is an additional concern, given the documented presence of aflatoxin and fumonisin in food systems of Africa, especially maize and groundnut. In preparation for a trial of mycotoxin mitigation, we conducted focus group discussions and recipe trials to explore complementary foods and feeding practices in Kongwa, a rural district of central Tanzania. Sixty mothers of infants from 6 to 18 months of age in five villages across the district were purposefully sampled. During focus group discussions, mothers reported to mostly feed their children with cereal and groundnut-based foods as thin or thick porridges.The most common porridge preparations contained cereal (mostly, maize) ranging from 66.7% to 80.0% by weight and groundnuts from 7.7% to 33.3%. The ratio of cereal to groundnut ranged from 3:1 to 4:1. For the recipe trial sessions, mothers chose similar ingredients reported during discussions to prepare complementary foods. The reliance on maize and groundnuts in complementary foods predisposes the children to undernutrition and exposure to aflatoxins and fumonisins. These formative research results suggest multiple intervention points to improve complementary feeding and reduce mycotoxin exposure in this population, including education messages package on feeding practices, mycotoxin control practices and complementary food formulation.aflatoxin, complementary feeding practices, fumonisin, infant and young child, Tanzania, undernutrition | INTRODUCTIONExclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life (Butte et al., 2002;Kramer & Kakuma, 2001) and appropriate complementary feeding from around 6 months of age are critical for early childhood growth and development (WHO/PAHO, 2003). After exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended period of 6 months, complementary feeding of 6-to 24-month-old infants and young children (IYC) with safe, nutritious and developmentally appropriate food is imperative to prevent undernutrition and exposure to food-borne toxins and to

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Complementary feeding in Kongwa, Tanzania: Findings to inform a mycotoxin mitigation trial

Mollay

Kassim

Stoltzfus

et al. 2021

Maternal & Child Nutrition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, some mothers seemed to know about the effect of moisture on stored lishe and reported drying the flour before storage. This is in line with findings from a qualitative study in Dodoma and Singida regions of Tanzania by Ngoma et al (2020) where participants were aware of the effects of mold contamination of improperly dried CFs with AFs. The knowledge of AFs in this context might be from the efforts of the Tanzanian government and its international partners in mitigating the contamination of foods with AFs.…”

Section: Caregivers Practices On Complementary Foodssupporting

confidence: 89%

Complementary feeding practices and the risk of exposure to aflatoxins among infants and young children in Kongwa, Tanzania

Mollay

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Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary fungal metabolites that commonly contaminate foods like nuts and cereals and pose major public health concerns like impaired child growth, immune system suppression, liver cancer and death. In sub-Saharan Africa, infants and young children (IYC) feed on complementary foods (CFs) containing ingredients susceptible to contamination with AFs. Although the presence of AFs in foodstuffs has been reported for over 60 years, very few studies have focused on CFs, yet children are more vulnerable due to relatively small bodyweights and underdeveloped immune systems. This study was conducted in Kongwa District, Tanzania in 2017 and 2018, to estimate the contribution of the main CF ingredients to aflatoxin exposure among IYC. The study documented the common ingredients of CFs and the intake of CFs by 35 (6-12- month-old) IYC using multiple-pass 24-h dietary recalls. The levels of AFs contamination in the collected samples were determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography while the exposure of IYC to AFs was estimated by a deterministic approach. The study further tested acceptability of Aflatoxin-safe maize-groundnut pre-blended flour (AFSaBF) and groundnut powder (AFSaGP). The key ingredients of CFs were milled maize, sorghum, pearl-millet, rice, and groundnuts (pre- or post-blended with cereals) prepared as thin/stiff porridge. The average per-capita daily intake of CFs flour was 89.45 g. About 82.14% of the samples had AFB1 levels ranging from 0.27–317 μg/kg, and the exposure levels ranged from 0.33-1168 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day. The Margins of Exposure were < 10 000 for all IYC, signifying a public health concern. The mothers and IYC generally accepted the improved porridge flour and groundnut powder. This is important information for future studies aiming at reducing exposure to AFs in this community. Groundnut and maize flours are the main contributors to the exposure of IYC to AFB1 in Kongwa district. Community education on mycotoxins-mitigation practices like appropriate pre and post harvest handling and complementary feeding practices may minimize aflatoxin exposure among IYC in Kongwa and other communities with similar settings. Appropriate feeding practices may entail diet diversification and substitution of groundnut or maize with other food ingredients that are less-prone to AFs contamination.

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Parents’ Practices and Barriers in Reducing Aflatoxins Contamination in Complementary Foods for Children in Central Regions of Tanzania

Cited by 2 publications

References 25 publications

Complementary feeding in Kongwa, Tanzania: Findings to inform a mycotoxin mitigation trial

Complementary feeding in Kongwa, Tanzania: Findings to inform a mycotoxin mitigation trial

Complementary feeding practices and the risk of exposure to aflatoxins among infants and young children in Kongwa, Tanzania

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