Two Feasibility Studies for Introduction of Multimicronutrient Soy/Whey-Based Supplements in Rural Homes in Honduras

Abstract

The objectives of the 2 studies were to determine the feasibility of providing home-based multimicronutrient supplements and their comparative effects on infants and children (6-36 months) in rural Honduras. Four multimicronutrient supplements were tested in 2008 and 2009. Anthropometric and hemoglobin values were main outcome variables. In 2008 and 2009, 188 and 143 children completed the study, respectively. Anemia was substantially reduced from 44% to 48% at baseline to 24% to 11% at the end of treatment. Weight-for-age and height-for-age scores were not significantly different among supplements tested. In conclusion, our studies demonstrate the feasibility of home-based micronutrient fortification with a significant reduction in anemia.We are very grateful to all the families and children for participating in the studies and to the clinic staff and volunteers for their dedication and support in the execution of the studies. We are also very grateful for the ongoing support from all the staff at NSRL.

Development of an extruded micronutrient delivery vehicle for the fortification of nixtamalised maize with chelated iron at the point of wet milling

“…The use of micronutrient powders in households is an example of such technologies, where micronutrient dense vehicles are blended with unfortified foods at the point of preparation or consumption to supplement the diets of vulnerable groups. Advantages of this strategy include its simplicity of use, demonstrated efficacy and acceptability (De‐Regil et al ., ; Jain et al ., ). The use of cold extrusion as a technique to manufacture micronutrient dense vehicles has shown positive outcomes including adequate micronutrient stability, uniform iron redistribution in food matrices and acceptable sensory characteristics of the final product such as in the case of enriched, reconstituted rice (Li et al ., , ).…”