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

Abstract

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.