Development and Nutritional Evaluation of Infant Food Premix to Improve the Nutritional Status of the Malnourished Infants (06-24 Months)

Abstract

Malnutrition is widely prevalent in children with 6-23 months of age group. To provide nutritionally adequate and balanced complementary foods, it is important to have food mixtures or variety of foods that fulfil macro and micro nutrient needs of the infant. The objective of the study was to develop nutritious infant food premix to improve the nutritional status of the malnourished infants from locally available resources by using household food processing techniques and analyse them for sensory attributes as well as nutrients. Four variations of Infant Food Premix (IFP) were formulated i.e., IFP1, IFP2, IFP3 and IFP4 by blending of 35 g pearl millet/wheat, 15 g pumpkin/carrot, 15 g finger millet, 15 g roasted bengal gram, 15 g milk powder and 5 g niger seeds and analyse them for sensory attributes via nine point hedonic scale. Among all variations of infant food premixes (IFP1, IFP2, IFP3 and IFP4), mean score of all the sensory attributes i.e., colour, appearance, texture, flavour, taste and overall acceptability for IFP4 was significantly higher at 1 % level of significance as compared to that of other IFP combinations i.e., IFP1, IFP2, IFP3 and according to 9-point hedonic scale, it was "liked very much''. Whereas the mean scores for other infant food premix (IFP1, IFP2 and IFP3) of all the sensory attributes were "liked very much to liked moderately''. The nutritional analysis of the best accepted infant food premix (IFP4) was high in nutrient contents i.e., protein (17.4 g), energy (406 Kcal), fats (9.65 g), iron (7.78 mg), calcium (481.83 mg), carbohydrate (62.40 g) and beta- carotene (1251 μg) as compared to ICDS Poshahar i.e., energy (399.35 kcal), protein (11.7 g), fats (8.16 g), iron (4.08 mg), carbohydrates (69.76 g), calcium (53.18 mg) and beta-carotene (156.55 μg) due to presence of pearl millet, finger millet, roasted bengal gram, pumpkin powder, milk powder and niger seeds. It can be concluded from the study that organoleptically accepted infant food premix had the high nutrient content which indicated that it has the potential to improve the nutritional status of infants.