FORMULATION OF AN INFANT FOOD BASED ON BREADFRUIT (ARTOCARPUS ALTILIS) AND BREADNUT (ARTOCARPUS CAMANSI)

The availability of nutritious and palatable high-protein infant foods made from local staple crops is essential to proper health and nutrition of children. New product development studies were carried out to formulate an infant food from breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) pulp and breadnut (Artocarpus camansi) seeds, which are locally available in Ghana, in combination with roasted malted maize and roasted groundnuts. Granulated sugar, full-fat powdered milk and dried powdered carrots were also incorporated into the formula. Physicochemical studies (proximate and functional analyses) on the raw ingredients and the formulated products included moisture, ash, protein, fat, fibre and carbohydrate contents and also waterbinding capacity, solubility, swelling power, viscosity and dispersability. Analyses on a local infant food and a commercial infant food, both maize-based, were made for comparison purposes. Roasting of the ingredients reduced their moisture content, increasing shelf life and providing an advantage in product development. Malting the maize reduced its water-binding capacity and viscosity while increasing solubility. Sensory evaluation of the formulated products revealed that the formulation with 50% Artocarpus altilis pulp, 40% malted, roasted maize and 10% roasted groundnuts had the most preferred attributes in terms of aroma, texture, mouthfeel, sweetness, aftertaste and overall acceptability. Proximate analysis of this product showed: 7.9% moisture, 2.2% crude ash, 1.9% crude fibre, 14.7% crude protein, 9.9% crude fat and 63.5% carbohydrate, indicating that this infant food was comparable to the commercial infant food with respect to protein and fat. The incorporation of breadfruit and breadnut into locally-produced infant foods can provide a nutritious and palatable alternative. It is therefore expedient to formulate infant foods from local staples that are nutritious, fit into the traditional culinary and child-feeding practices of the region and are affordable. INTRODUCTION Infant nutrition in the first two years of life has long-term consequences on the health and productivity of that individual. Infants in developing countries generally show satisfactory growth during the first six months of life when they are almost exclusively breastfed (Jansen, 1992). Inappropriate complementary food to breastmilk has been identified as a contributing factor to the high incidence of malnutrition in developing countries (WHO/UNICEF, 1998). Among the many approaches needed to improve child survival and growth in developing countries is the provision of safe and nutritious infant foods (Jansen, 1992). Traditional infant porridges in developing countries are usually made from local staples and the resulting gruels may have low nutritional value in terms 215 Proc. I st IS on Breadfruit Research & Development Eds.: D. Ragone and M.B. Taylor Acta Hort. 757, ISHS 2007 of micronutrients and macronutrients (Brown, 1991). In Ghana, for example, a traditional infant food prepared from roasted, milled maize and commonly known as “tom brown” is fed to infants as a complement to breastmilk from as early as 5-6 months. The nutrient content of this product, however, is far below the recommended values for infant foods and cannot meet the nutritional demands of an infant. Although a number of commercial infant foods exist, most families in the lowand middle-income earning groups cannot afford them. It is therefore expedient to formulate infant foods from local staples that are nutritious, fit into the traditional culinary and child-feeding practices of the region and are affordable. In developing countries like Ghana, some development of high-protein infant foods has been done by fortifying cereals with legumes (soy beans and cowpeas) (Akpapunam and Sefa-Dedeh, 1995). More studies are needed to reduce the viscosity and dietary bulk of traditional infant food products. An infant food requirement now emphasized is a high caloric density per unit volume of food which can be obtained by reducing the viscosity of the product. Breadfruit and breadnut are neglected but highly nutritious crops containing macronutrients (e.g., protein) and micronutrients (e.g., minerals) suitable for infant food formulations. Thus, in order to reduce the incidence of protein-energy malnutrition in Ghana, and perhaps other parts of the West African subregion, breadfruit and breadnut were selected for use in developing a local infant food formula, using traditional technologies to reduce product viscosity to provide desirable functional and nutritional qualities. MATERIALS AND METHODS The locally available crops used to formulate the infant food were breadfruit pulp, Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg, breadnut seeds (Artocarpus camansi Blanco), maize, groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) and carrots. Processing of Raw Materials Mature, firm fruits of breadfruit were hand-picked and sorted. They were washed and peeled in water to avoid browning. The cores were removed and the remaining pulp cut into thin slices about 2 mm thick. The sliced pulp pieces were pre-gelatinised by immersing the pulp chips in hot water, then were drained and solar-dried at a temperature of 55°C for 4 d. Dried chips were milled using a hammer mill and the resulting flour sieved. Ripe breadnut fruits were gathered after they had dropped from the tree and sorted and washed. Seeds were extracted from the pulp by hand, crushed and dried in a solar dryer at 55°C for 4 d, dehulled and roasted in a gas oven at 120°C for 20 m then milled using a hammer mill and the resulting flour sieved. Maize was sorted, washed and steeped for 48 h. After this treatment, the grains were spread on a moistened jute sack for 2 d and allowed to germinate. After sprouting, the grains were solar-dried at 55°C for 3 d and the vegetative portion was removed by gentle abrasion. Dried maize grains were roasted at 140°C for 30 m in a gas oven until golden brown. Milling was done using a hammer mill and the resulting sieved. Groundnuts were sorted and roasted at 130°C for 25 m in a gas oven, then dehulled and milled. Firm, ripe carrots were washed and processed into thin chips using a locally assembled mechanical chipper, then solar-dried at 55°C for 2 d and milled. Formulation of Blends Six different blends were formulated using varying percentages of the ingredients (Table 1). For the purpose of viscosity analysis and comparison, two additional blends were formulated. To each blend, the following additives were incorporated: 10% full-fat milk powder, 10% granulated sugar and 5% powdered carrots. Each product (P) was assigned a unique identifying number.