Ac. Bovell-benjamin et al., Toddlers' acceptance of whole maize meal porridge fortified with Ferrous Bisglycinate, FOOD QUAL P, 10(2), 1999, pp. 123-128
Consumer acceptance of maize fortified with ferrous bisglycinate (BIS), and
with or without the antioxidant BHA, was measured in forty toddlers (6-24
months) and their mothers, as part of a research project investigating the
suitability of BIS for use as an iron fortificant in developing countries.
Porridge was prepared from unfortified maize (CTRL), or maize meal fortifie
d with 30 mg/kg iron as BIS, with or without 50 ppm BHA, and stored at 30 d
egrees C for 20 days. Toddlers (responses interpreted by the mothers) and t
heir mothers evaluated the porridges in triplicate on a g-point hedonic sca
le, in a double-blind, randomized design. In toddlers, no significant diffe
rences were found among the porridges for overall liking. Means for the thr
ee porridges were > 7.0, indicating a general liking of the porridge, regar
dless of treatment. As expected, parents preferred the control porridge, fo
llowed by BIS + BHA (p < 0.05) and BIS. Because iron fortification of whole
maize with BIS or BIS + BHA did not affect toddlers' acceptance of the por
ridge, we conclude BIS fortification may be a promising strategy for preven
ting iron deficiency. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.