Institute of Health Professions Education and Research, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar 25100, Pakistan.
Centre for Global Development, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK.
Nutrients. 2022 Feb 15;14(4):817. doi: 10.3390/nu14040817.
Zinc-biofortified flour may be a cost-effective approach to improve zinc status of populations in low-resource settings. The success of biofortification programmes is subject to acceptability and uptake by consumers. This study explored community leaders' and community members' ( = 72) experiences and attitudes towards the flour provided during a cluster randomised controlled trial of zinc biofortified wheat in rural Pakistan (BiZiFED2). Focus group discussions ( = 12) were conducted and thematic analysis applied using an inductive, semantic, contextualist approach. Five themes were identified: (1) Contribution to food security; (2) Better sensory and baking properties than local flour; (3) Perceived health benefits; (4) Willingness to pay for the flour; and (5) Importance of trusted promoters/suppliers. Although the participants were blind to whether they had received control or biofortified flour, referred to collectively as "study flour", the results indicated that the study flour performed well in terms of its taste and bread making qualities, with no adverse reports from participants in either arm of the BIZIFED2 RCT. Participants suggested that they would buy the biofortified wheat if this was available at a fair price due to perceived health benefits, reporting positive sensory characteristics and cooking attributes when compared to the flour available in the local markets. Overall, there was a positive reception of the programme and flour among the participants, and members of the community hoped for its continuation and expansion.
锌强化面粉可能是一种在资源匮乏环境中提高人群锌营养状况的具有成本效益的方法。生物强化计划的成功取决于消费者的接受度和采用率。本研究探讨了社区领导人和社区成员（=72）在巴基斯坦农村进行的锌强化小麦的群组随机对照试验（BiZiFED2）期间对所提供面粉的经验和态度。进行了焦点小组讨论（=12），并使用归纳、语义、语境主义方法进行了主题分析。确定了五个主题：（1）对粮食安全的贡献；（2）比当地面粉具有更好的感官和烘焙特性；（3）感知到的健康益处；（4）愿意为面粉付费；以及（5）值得信赖的推广者/供应商的重要性。尽管参与者对他们是否收到了对照或生物强化面粉（统称为“研究面粉”）一无所知，但结果表明，研究面粉在口感和面包制作质量方面表现良好，在 BIZIFED2 RCT 的两个试验组中均未收到参与者的不良反应报告。参与者表示，如果这种生物强化小麦以公平的价格出售，他们会购买，因为他们认为这种小麦具有健康益处，与当地市场上的面粉相比，这种小麦具有积极的感官特征和烹饪属性。总的来说，参与者对该计划和面粉的反应积极，社区成员希望该计划能够继续和扩大。
