Abstract
Improved formulations of complementary foods (CFs) with animal-source foods (ASFs) is an important strategy to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF). However, ASFs are expensive in many food-insecure settings where edible insects abound. CFs were developed from flours of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and cricket (OFSCri) or palm weevil larvae (OFSPal) or soybean (OFSSoy) in the ratio 7:3. Nutritional and microbial quality of the novel CFs were determined and compared with Weanimix (recommended maize-peanut-soybean blend). Sensory evaluation of porridges was rated on a five-point hedonic scale among 170 Ghanaian mothers. OFSCri (20.33 ± 0.58 g/100 g) and Weanimix (16.08 ± 0.13 g/100 g) met the protein requirement of 15 g/100 g from CFs. Although Fe content was significantly higher for OFSCri (1.17 ± 0.03 mg/100 g), none of the CFs met the recommended levels for Fe. All the CFs were free from Salmonella, and aerobic plate count was significantly below permissible levels. All the CFs were ranked above the minimum threshold (hedonic scale = 3; neither like nor dislike) of likeness for the sensory attributes. Crickets and palm weevil larvae can be blended with OFSP and could be sustainable, culturally appropriate alternative ASFs for IYCF, but long-term studies are needed to evaluate their efficacy.
Highlights
IntroductionStunting (low height-for-age) and wasting (low weigh-for-height) are common consequences of protein deficiency, whiles iron, zinc and vitamin A are the major micronutrient deficiencies negatively influencing growth during the complementary feeding period [1]
Stunting and wasting are common consequences of protein deficiency, whiles iron, zinc and vitamin A are the major micronutrient deficiencies negatively influencing growth during the complementary feeding period [1]
Crickets and palm weevil larvae can be blended with Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and could be sustainable, culturally appropriate alternative animal-source foods (ASFs) for infant and young child feeding (IYCF), but long-term studies are needed to evaluate their efficacy
Summary
Stunting (low height-for-age) and wasting (low weigh-for-height) are common consequences of protein deficiency, whiles iron, zinc and vitamin A are the major micronutrient deficiencies negatively influencing growth during the complementary feeding period [1]. 140 million children under five years are stunted, and wasting still impacts the lives of over 47 million children, especially during the complementary feeding period [2]. Estimates indicate that 273 million children under five years are anemic and 5.2 million preschool-age children are at risk of night blindness from vitamin A deficiency (VAD); these estimates are skewed towards children from Africa and Asia [3,4]. Zinc deficiency is associated with stunted growth, anemia, greater susceptibility to infection and other serious
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