About
Blended Foods
About Fortified
Blended Foods
Efficient use of food allocation & management – tasty yet cost effective – meets nutritional demands – increase in number of feeding days – no budget constraints due to its low cost per head count – appropriate both for on the spot feeding and take home ration …
These are some of the principle hallmarks which make Fortified blended Foods (FBF) the preferred formulated food for local governments and international aid organizations giving it an edge over other take home ration’s that are currently under distribution.
FBF consist of a granulated mixture of precooked cereal flours (to varying degrees) supplemented with and fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Specifically, Fortified Blended Foods are a mixture of the following ingredients:
- Cereals such as maize, sorghum, millet, wheat, rice or a combination providing carbohydrates;
- Pulses, like chickpeas or soybeans, as an additional source of protein;
- Oilseeds such as groundnuts, hulled sunflower seeds, sesame, soybean or stabilized vegetable oil as an additional source of oil;
- Vitamin/mineral premix;
- Sugar, if required (up to 10%) replacing an equivalent amount of cereal;
Appropriate mixtures (although other combinations are possible) include: maize/soy: ration 80/20; wheat/soy: ratio 75/25; rice/soy: ratio 70/30. Note: Maize, rice and soybean need not be hulled, wheat needs to be hulled or used as wheat flour (at least 80% extraction).
Formulations Based on Local Requirements
Fortified Blended Foods are always based on the local staple food eating habits of the zone/area. In most cultures, food habits are based on the available agricultural raw materials.
Traditional cereals and grain legume crops play important roles in the diet of many people in Africa and Asia, and are major sources of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.
Traditional fortified blended foods are based on these local staples, namely rice, wheat, maize, millet, sorghum groundnuts, and beans mixed with Soya and Sugar and further fortified with essential vitamins and minerals.
Benefits of Fortified Blended Foods
The introduction of FBF in third-world countries country is to replace the imported blended foods to the development of different recipes palatable and acceptable to the consumer’s nutrient composition and extended shelf life.
The distinctive advantages of FBF are enumerated as under:
- The cost is low as compared to its nutritional value.
- It is tasty food.
- It is flexible in preparation.
- It has short cooking time.
- It is highly digestible.
- It has extended shelf life.
- It is a safe food.
Local FBF Variants:
USA: | CORN SOY BLEND |
WHEAT SOY BLEND | |
Malawi: | LIKUNI PHALA |
Ethiopia: | FAMIX |
TANAMIX | |
FAFFA | |
Nepal: | UNILITO |
India | INDIAMIX |
BABYMIX |