Abstract
It has been suggested that iron fortification could reduce dietary anaemia in women of childbearing age and preschool children in Mozambique, where cassava root, the staple carbohydrate, is deficient in iron. <i>Mahewu</i> is a traditional non-alcoholic, beverage made from fermented cassava roots (<i>Manihot esculenta</i>, Crantz). This study used Luten’s in vitro dialysis method to compare the bioaccessibility of ferrous sulfate and ferrous fumarate added to <i>mahewu</i> made from sweet and bitter cassava varieties, at two different stages of fermentation. Iron concentration was measured using an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer. Neither the stage of fortification nor the iron salt used affected the concentration of iron. A significant (p<0.05) difference was observed in the proportion of bioaccessible iron in mahewu fortified with either ferrous sulfate or ferrous fumarate. A higher proportion of iron was found to be bioaccessible in <i>mahewu</i> fortified with ferrous sulfate. However, the concentration of both total and proportional bioaccessible iron was significantly higher (p<0.05) when ferrous sulfate was used, compared to ferrous fumarate. It is recommended that ferrous sulphate be used for both household and commercial fortification of <i>mahewu</i> in Mozambique.
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