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Production and nutritional analysis of improved baby food (TOM-BROWN)

Flour of Nigeria, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, cereals are the major food source for weaning and growing children.
Nevertheless, the level of nutrients in the commonly consumed traditionally prepared children food are significantly lower which makes it almost impossible for growing children to meet their daily nutritional requirements.

The processes involved in the domestic production of Tom Brown are tedious and requires a lot of time, this has been the major constraint for working mothers living in the urban areas of the country. Also, some mothers do not have the idea that such a highly nutritious meal exists. This has led us to the situation in the country with the following statistics; 32% of children below 5 years suffer from stunting, 29% of children are underweight, and 2 million children suffer from SAM.

Tom Brown is a processed cereal-based blend which is cooked into a semi-liquid food for children especially from 6 months, which contains good levels of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and fibre. This meal is prepared by few mothers in Nigeria with grains such as maize, soybeans, groundnut, sorghum, millet e.t.c. T he grains used depends on availability, allergy, ease of handling and the financial capability of the household. Nevertheless, a widely accepted blend on the basis of nutrient adequacy consists of all the aforementioned grains which could be in different ratio depending on individual choice. This project seeks to achieve the best cereal combination ratio that would give the consumers, especially children, the daily required nutrient for proper growth and development.

Keywords: Cereals, children, food, grains, growth, health, legumes, malnutrition, Nigeria, nutrition, processing, stunting, Tom-Brown, weaning, wsasted weight

Contact Address: Kikelomo Olanipekun, Flour of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria, e-mail: olanipekunkikelomo6gmail.com