Complementary feeding in Kongwa, Tanzania: Findings to inform a mycotoxin mitigation trial

Abstract

Complementary feeding of 6-to 24-month-old infants and young children with adequate, safe and developmentally appropriate food is essential to child health.Inappropriate complementary foods and feeding practices are linked to the high incidences of undernutrition among infant and young children in most developing countries, including Tanzania. Mycotoxin risk is an additional concern, given the documented presence of aflatoxin and fumonisin in food systems of Africa, especially maize and groundnut. In preparation for a trial of mycotoxin mitigation, we conducted focus group discussions and recipe trials to explore complementary foods and feeding practices in Kongwa, a rural district of central Tanzania. Sixty mothers of infants from 6 to 18 months of age in five villages across the district were purposefully sampled. During focus group discussions, mothers reported to mostly feed their children with cereal and groundnut-based foods as thin or thick porridges.The most common porridge preparations contained cereal (mostly, maize) ranging from 66.7% to 80.0% by weight and groundnuts from 7.7% to 33.3%. The ratio of cereal to groundnut ranged from 3:1 to 4:1. For the recipe trial sessions, mothers chose similar ingredients reported during discussions to prepare complementary foods. The reliance on maize and groundnuts in complementary foods predisposes the children to undernutrition and exposure to aflatoxins and fumonisins. These formative research results suggest multiple intervention points to improve complementary feeding and reduce mycotoxin exposure in this population, including education messages package on feeding practices, mycotoxin control practices and complementary food formulation.aflatoxin, complementary feeding practices, fumonisin, infant and young child, Tanzania, undernutrition | INTRODUCTIONExclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life (Butte et al., 2002;Kramer & Kakuma, 2001) and appropriate complementary feeding from around 6 months of age are critical for early childhood growth and development (WHO/PAHO, 2003). After exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended period of 6 months, complementary feeding of 6-to 24-month-old infants and young children (IYC) with safe, nutritious and developmentally appropriate food is imperative to prevent undernutrition and exposure to food-borne toxins and to

Provision of low‐aflatoxin local complementary porridge flour reduced urinary aflatoxin biomarker in children aged 6–18 months in rural Tanzania

“…Quantities were estimated to last for a week, benchmarked from the quantities reported in the baseline dietary interviews. The proportions were based on the common practice in the study area (Makori et al, 2019; Mollay et al, 2021). Always stainless steel vacuum flask (ALWAYS, China) was also provided for safe and hot storage of babys’ porridge.…”

Main complementary food ingredients contributing to aflatoxin exposure to infants and young children in Kongwa, Tanzania

“…Though serving as the main components of CFs owing to their excellent energy and nutritional sources (Klerks et al, 2019), cereal ingredients are susceptible to mycotoxin contamination which increases the risk of exposure to these toxins (Mollay et al, 2021).…”