Toddlers' acceptance of whole maize meal porridge fortified with Ferrous Bisglycinate

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 fortified with 30 mg/kg iron as BIS, with or without 50 ppm BHA, and stored at 30 degrees C for 20 days. Toddlers (responses interpreted by the mothers) and their mothers evaluated the porridges in triplicate on a g-point hedonic scale, in a double-blind, randomized design. In toddlers, no significant differences were found among the porridges for overall liking. Means for the three porridges were > 7.0, indicating a general liking of the porridge, regardless of treatment. As expected, parents preferred the control porridge, followed 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 porridge, we conclude BIS fortification may be a promising strategy for preventing iron deficiency. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.