Abstract

Development of complementary food that contains adequate nutrients at affordable costs is quite a challenge for developing countries. The traditional complementary foods are viscous and lack essential nutrients. The objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate the physicochemical properties and acceptability of a complementary food. A preliminary study was conducted to select the appropriate processing method and estimate the nutritional composition of the ingredients. Accordingly, the complementary food was formulated from processed sorghum, pigeon pea, soybean along with skimmed milk and sucrose in the proportion of  65:15:10:5:5. The blend (95%) was mixed with malted finger millet (5%). Functional properties, sensory attributes, amino acid composition and trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) of the product were evaluated. The product was easily dispersed in warm water and the reconstitution had a smooth and homogeneous consistency. The dry basis composition of the product was 14.4% digestible protein, 59% digestible starch, 4.2% fat, 12.8% total dietary fiber and 2.4% total minerals. Calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc level were 145.2, 94.5, 6.0 and 2.0 mg per 100 g dry basis, respectively. TIA in the product was inactivated to trace. Physicochemical properties of the formulated product were within the acceptable standard for children aged between 6 and 24 months. The newly developed complementary food may contribute to alleviating child malnutrition.  

Key words: Cereals, pulses, skimmed milk, viscosity, complementary food.