Infant Porridge Research Articles

Dietary intake of vitamin D during the second half of infancy in Swedish infants

Background: The physiological requirement for vitamin D in infants and young children is not known. The current Nordic recommendation is a daily intake of 10 µg or 400 IU. In Sweden a daily supplement with vitamins A and D (AD-drops) is recommended from 6 weeks to 6 years of age, but compliance has been questioned, particularly after the first 2 years of life. Objective: To estimate the total dietary intake of vitamin D and the contribution from AD-drops to the total daily intake during the second half of infancy. Design: A postal survey on food intake with emphasis on vitamin D, including the recommended AD supplements at 5, 7 and 10 months of age, was answered by parents of 174 infants. Results: The average total intake of vitamin D was estimated at 11-15 µg day-1. AD-drops accounted for 76,64 and 53% of the total daily intake of vitamin D at 5, 7 and 10 months of age, respectively. Infant formula, milk cereal drink and commercial infant porridge were the most important food sources of vitamin D in these age groups. Conclusions: During the second half of infancy, when food is becoming successively more diversified, the average daily vitamin D intake was above the recommended daily intake of 10 µg for that age group. Vitamin D supplement accounted for more than half of the daily intake in all age groups studied. Without the recommended supplement the average vitamin D intake would have been below the level considered to lead to a risk of developing rickets in the youngest age group of the healthy, term infants. Keywords: allergy; infancy; retrospective; questionnaire; vitamin D

Production of improved infant porridges from pearl millet using a lactic acid fermentation step and addition of sorghum malt to reduce viscosity of porridges with high protein, energy and solids (30%) content

With the aim of improving the safety and nutritional quality of traditional African weaning porridge, the reduction of the viscosity of a high solids fermented pearl millet porridge by addition of sorghum malt (amylase rich flour, ARF) was investigated. The effect of fermentation, cooking, malt addition and recooking on the microflora of, and the survival of an inoculated pathogen were determined. Addition of 5% (w/v) sorghum ARF to the gelatinized millet porridge gave an acceptable viscosity of 2500–3000 cP at a high solid content of 30%. Fermentation inhibited the growth of microorganisms in the porridge and recooking the fermented porridge after sorghum ARF addition further eliminated (<102 c.f.u./g) the moulds and coliforms that were introduced with the sorghum ARF. The recooked, fermented millet plus sorghum ARF porridge prevented the proliferation of the inoculated Escherichia coli and reduced it to <102 c.f.u./g within 18 h. The porridge could supply children under 3 years with the daily required protein using 1.4 feedings per day and required energy with 4 feedings a day.