DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRIENT ENRICHED CASSAVA – ORANGE FLESHED SWEET POTATO-BASED SNACK FOR SCHOOL FEEDING OF CHILDREN AGED 6-15 YEARS

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dc.contributor.authorULANGO, TOM
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-10T11:42:17Z
dc.date.available2026-07-10T11:42:17Z
dc.date.issued2024-12
dc.description.abstractIntroduction Undernutrition in rural regions is a global concern that is exacerbated by non-sustainable practices such as pupils feeding programs and school gardens. Nutrient-dense, reasonably priced meals can be given to rural populations as a solution. The goal of the current study is to develop a nutrient enriched snack made of cassava-OFSP blend that may be fed to school-age children (6-15 years) in the Zombo district. The snacks were formulated from a blend of cassava, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP), maize, amaranth seed and NARO Bean2 flours and contained both macro (protein, crude fiber, crude fats, ash, energy) and micro (iron, zinc and vitamin A) nutrients Method During the study, both a cross-sectional and a randomized design (CRD) were employed in the investigation. 130 pupils participated in the study and assessed the snack's preferences for colour, flavor, taste and mouth feel. Reducing the proportion of cassava and OFSP less than 25% and 0% respectively in the formulation, significantly (p<0.05) improved the color of the snacks. According to the study, lowering these flour proportions could not have a significant (p>0.05) impact on how good the snack tastes. Additionally, the taste and texture of the snacks SP3 and SP6 improved dramatically (p<0.05) when the amount of cassava flour in the control snack SP2 (100% Cassava flour) was decreased. The study noted that adding other flours instead of cassava boosted the amount of protein in the new product SP5 (40% Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, 15% Cassava, 20% Maize, 7% Amaranth and 18% Iron Rich Bean Flours) the control SP2 from 20.67% to 26.48% (p<0.05). Similarly, addition of more flours to substitute cassava flour in snack SP2 significantly (p>0.05) increased the crude fiber content from 0.8 in snack SP2 to 6.43% in snack SP3. The study therefore indicates that nutrient dense snacks can be developed using local plant materials that are available in the communities to meet the recommendable dietary requirement of iron 10mg/day for children 6-8 years, 8mg for boys and girls children 9-13 years, 11mg/day and 15mg per day for adolescent boys and girls and girls 14-18 years respectively among school children 6-15 years in Zombo district, West Nile Sub-region. Results: The study developed 9 snack samples SP1 (100:0:0:0:0), control SP2 (0:100:0:0:0), P3 (80:5:0:7:8), SP4 (60:10:10:7:13), SP5(40:15:20:7:18), SP6 (20:20:30:7:23) SP7(0:25:40:7:28), SP8 (0:30:50:7:33) and SP9 (0:0:55:7:38) with various proportions (Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato: cassava: maize: amaranth seed: iron rich bean 2) flours respectively. Sensory analysis indicates that xiii variation in flour proportions resulted in the development of snacks that were significantly different (p<0.05) by 0.84 score for colour compared to the control SP2. Flavour of the snacks improved by 0.61 score in in snack SP3 while, mouth feel had a score difference of 0.83 for snack P6. Generally, flour formulation caused a significant (p<0.05) change in snacks SP7, SP8 and SP9; for colour, SP3, SP4, SP5, SP6 and flavour SP8; SP3 and SP6 respectively but did not (p>0.05) significantly improve taste and preferences of all the snacks despite SP3 score of 3.02 being the highest and lowest (2.79) in snack SP2 (control) using hedonic scale 5 liked most and 1 disliked most. Proximate and micronutrient analysis indicates that SP6, SP9 and SP3 had the highest iron (44.01mg/100g), Zinc (7.17mg/100g) and vitamin A (1441.33µg/100g) respectively however, SP3 had the highest (12.37%) moisture content making the snack prone to spoilage due to growth of microbes. Servings of snack (20g, 70g & 67g) of SP9, would meet 100% RDA of iron, zinc vitamin A for children 9-13 years, similarly, SP9 servings of 27.3g and 37.3g, 80g (girl) and 103g (boys), would meet 100% RDA of iron, zinc and vitamin A for children 6-15 years depending on the nutritional requirements for th various sexes and age of the children. The requirements of RDA of iron (10mg/day), zinc 5mg/day and vitamin A (400µg/RAE) per day for boy and girl children 6-8years respectively, while for by and girl children 9-15years, SP9 and SP6 servings of (20g,70g,67g) and (18.2g,86.5g,57g) would provide the RDA of 5mg/day, 8mg/day 600µgRAE/day for iron, zinc and vitamin A respectively whereas, children 14-15 years would be served 103g and 85.6g of the snacks SP9 and SP6 to meet the RDA of vitamin A (900 µgRAE and 700 µgRAE) for boys and girls respectively and 153.4g serving and 190.3 g serving of SP9 and SP6 would provide 11mg/day for zinc. Conclusion: The study indicates that locally available, nutritious and underexploited plant materials can be used to develop composite flour mixes using cassava, OFSP, maize, amaranth seed and NAROBean2 can be used to create edible and nutrient dense snacks that would meet the RDA for iron, zinc and vitamin recommended for education sector in Uganda to embrace cassava-OFSP-based snacks developed from the locally available foods in the current study with further studies on the effects of soaking, malting, roasting on the nutrient bioavailability. Recommendation Future studies should evaluate water soluble nutrients like iron, zinc and vitamin A bioavailability during the soaking, roasting, and malting processes used during the development of the cassava-OFSP snack formulations. Therefore, schools can develop snacks to enhance nutrient intake among the school children to improve their health and increase their concentration in class
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14270/875
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherGulu University
dc.subjectUndernutrition
dc.subjectMicronutrients
dc.subjectAntinutritional factors
dc.subjectsnacks
dc.titleDEVELOPMENT OF NUTRIENT ENRICHED CASSAVA – ORANGE FLESHED SWEET POTATO-BASED SNACK FOR SCHOOL FEEDING OF CHILDREN AGED 6-15 YEARS
dc.typeThesis

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