Acceptability of extrusion cooked cereal/legume weaning food supplements to Ghanaian mothers

Six cereal/legume mixtures were developed with the aid of computer-assisted optimization software from cereal and legume staples indigenous to the Wes t African sub-region. The mixtures had 45-50% maize, 35-40% decorticated co wpeas and either blanched peanuts or decorticated soybeans as a source of l ipid and complementary amino acids. Three processing schemes involving roas ting, amylase digestion and extrusion cooking were employed. The proportion of ingredients in each cereal/legume blend was based on meeting the nutrie nt requirement of the 0.5-0.9-year-old infant and cost considerations. Nutr ient composition of the blends (proximate, amino acid, mineral and vitamin composition) indicated that these formulations were adequate nutritionally as weaning supplements (Mensa-Wilmot et al, 2000a,2000b). These formulation s were evaluated by mothers of weanling children based on their preferences with respect to color, flavor, texture and willingness to purchase the pro duct assessed. A total of 133 one-on-one interviews and 23 group discussion s were conducted (involving 6-12 respondents) with selected Ghanaian women. The mothers found the convenience of a weaning food made from local staple s that could be processed on village/market scale very attractive.