Department of Microbiology, School of Science and Technology, Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.
University of Vienna, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Vienna, Austria.
Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2024 Nov;23(6):e70022. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.70022.
Complementary foods (CFs) commonly consumed by infants and young children (IYC) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are processed using either single or multi-grain ingredients through simple technologies such as fermentation, malting and roasting. Interestingly, CFs (e.g., ogi, kunu, and dabo) are prepared and fed to infants alongside breastmilk until they are completely weaned up to the infant's second birthday. The grains used for preparing CFs can be contaminated with bacterial and chemical contaminants as a result of poor harvesting, handling or storage practices. The stage at which IYC are introduced to CFs is of utmost importance as it aids in addressing malnutrition and improving their overall health and well-being. Complementary feeding practices across SSA are influenced by socio-economic, cultural and geographical factors such that improper introduction can result in dire health consequences including immune suppression, severe foodborne diseases, poor child growth and development, and sometimes death from malnutrition. Malnutrition often occurs from inadequacies of nutrient intakes and assimilation which affect the ability to maintain normal body functions such as growth, learning abilities, resistance to and recovery from diseases. In SSA, IYC malnutrition still poses an enormous concern, therefore indicating the need for intervention strategies such as the promotion of indigenous crops and elevating traditional knowledge and technologies for formulating CFs. This paper clearly highlights the diversity of CFs in SSA, ingredients utilized, processing techniques, contamination by bacteria and chemicals, and demonstrates the consequences of consuming contaminated CFs, and their influence on IYC health as well as approaches to ensuring safety and scaling up indigenous CFs.
撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）地区的婴幼儿普遍食用补充食品（CFs），这些食品是通过发酵、麦芽处理和烘焙等简单技术，使用单一或多种谷物原料加工而成。有趣的是，CFs（如 ogi、kunu 和 dabo）是在母乳喂养的同时为婴儿准备和喂养的，直到他们完全断奶，直到婴儿满两岁。用于制备 CFs 的谷物可能因收割、处理或储存不当而受到细菌和化学污染物的污染。婴儿开始食用 CFs 的阶段非常重要，因为它有助于解决营养不良问题，改善他们的整体健康和福祉。SSA 各地的补充喂养做法受到社会经济、文化和地理因素的影响，因此不当引入可能会导致严重的健康后果，包括免疫抑制、严重的食源性疾病、儿童生长发育不良，有时甚至因营养不良而死亡。营养不良通常是由于营养素摄入和吸收不足导致的，这会影响维持正常身体功能的能力，如生长、学习能力、对疾病的抵抗力和恢复能力。在 SSA，婴幼儿营养不良仍然是一个巨大的问题，因此需要采取干预策略，例如推广本土作物，提升传统知识和技术以制定 CFs。本文清楚地强调了 SSA 地区 CFs 的多样性、所使用的成分、加工技术、细菌和化学物质的污染，以及食用受污染的 CFs 的后果，及其对婴幼儿健康的影响，以及确保安全性和扩大本土 CFs 的方法。
