Complementary Food Products from Maize and Defatted Sesame

The need for nutritious foods to suppliement breat milk in order to prevent/reduce protein/energy malnutrition (PEM) is now being met through comerically produced foods prepared by high technology porcesses. Complementary foods so prepared are excellent products that meet the nutritional requirements of young children. However, the products, as marketed are too expensive for the target groups in the developing countries. It is therefore desirable to develop less expensive but equally nutritious foods, using locally available staple foods and simple local technologies that are adaptadable at rural and househod levels.Maize and defatted sesamee were blended to produce nutriious complementary food products while malting and fermentation improved the quality and availability of their proteins and reduced the anti-nutritional factors that may affect the utilization of their nutrients as well as the health of consumers. Traditional processes which make it possible to utilize these potentially rich and easily available sources of nutrients in the formulation of complementary foods would help in improving the nutritional status of the populace, especially in the developing countries

Autorentext

Dr. D. I. Gernah Studied Zoology at the University of Ibadan, Industial Microbiology and Brewing Science at Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland. He is currently an Associate Professor of Food Science and Techology at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria. He has wide professional experience in the food industry and the class room.