Formulation and nutritional evaluation of ready-to-use therapeutic food using locally available food ingredients

BackgroundReady-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a specially formulated high protein and nutrient dense meal used to treat children over 6 months of age who are severely malnourished.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to formulate and evaluate 3 RUTF products with graded ratios of the base ingredients - rice, soybean, groundnut, carrot and date palm.MethodsThe products which were coded as RSG-RUTF-1, RSG-RUTF-2, RSG-RUTF–3 (rice, soy bean, and groundnut) were evaluated for nutrient/energy composition and sensory attributes using standard methods. Data obtained were statistically analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 23.ResultsThe moisture content of the products ranged from 9.26 - 11.11%, crude fiber 2.39 - 2.79%, and ash 0.99 - 1.07%. The proportions of energy from the macronutrients were protein 6.85 - 9.75%, fat 6.81 - 26.49%, and carbohydrate 50.22 - 71.01%. While the vitamins A (1.14 -1.33mg), and E (20.20 – 20.27mg) and sodium (5.55 – 6.02mg) were within the recommended levels for RUTF, iron (0.68 – 0.85mg), potassium (16.22 – 24.24mg), copper (0.00 – 0.01mg), magnesium (4.27 – 5.22mg) and zinc (0.01 – 0.06mg) were slightly low. However, the energy content of the products which ranged from 374Kcal in RSG-RUTF-2 to 478Kcal in RSG-RUTF-3 was adequate. There were significant (p<0.05) differences among the products for taste, texture and general acceptability. The RSG-RUTF-3 had the highest general acceptability score (7.17± 0.25).ConclusionsAll the formulated RSG-RUTFs have potentials of serving as alternatives to the imported RUTF. However, the content of protein, and a few other nutrients would need to be increased slightly.