Proximate, Micronutrient, Functional and Microbial Properties of Complementary Foods Sold in Three Localities in South West Region of Cameroon

Arrey Oben Ebob Ashu¹, Tiepma Ngongang Eurydice Flore¹, Bernard Tiencheu^1*, Aduni Ufuan Achidi¹, Mbame Efeti Claudine¹, Noel Tenyang² & Feumba Dibamda Romelle¹

¹Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
²Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon

Dr. Bernard Tiencheu, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon.

Keywords: Complementary Food; Nutrient Composition; Adequacy; Children; Reference Standard

Abstract

Mothers and caregivers typically feed infants according to their culture, purchase power and level of awareness with no due diligence to nutritional quality of the diet. Scientific evidence on nutritional adequacy of predominant complementary foods is critical for planning and prioritizing interventions. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the quality of complementary foods. Some complementary food types Vita Force (VT), Soytine (ST), Soyaconia (SC), Soya Pap (SP), Tanty Reine (TR), Phospatine, Dina Baby (DB), were assayed for proximate composition, energy and micronutrients using standard method of AOAC, (2005) [1]. Adequacy of the complementary foods in nutrients for complementary feeding purposes was assessed as a ratio between actual composition and recommended composition of complementary foods. Microbiological analysis was done using standard methods of olurunjuwon et al., (2014) [2]. Data obtained was statistical analyzed using GraphPad insta 3. The results for the proximate analysis (carbohydrate, protein, fat, ash, fibre) of the complementary food samples were comparatively lower than the recommendation by FAO (2006) [3]. Micronutrient content of the weaning foods as well as the functional properties was significantly different from that of the standard. Mineral composition showed that none of the different weaning foods had the recommended value for the minerals Ca, Na, K, Fe, Zn, Mg except for one of the semi-scaled CF Tanty which had the right amount (48.6%) of Mg mineral. Microbiological load for weaning foods determines the wholesomeness of weaning foods for consumption as the Coliform counts were in acceptable range (less than 3cfu/g) but homemade food samples like kwacoco and pap had higher value for total bacterial count of 200cfu/g. Hence, most of the weaning foods sold in Fako, South West region of Cameroon are not adequate for children’s normal nutrition and growth.

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