Beschreibung:
<jats:p>To sustain healthy growth, infants from about 6 to 23 months of age need to complement breastmilk with solid foods that are more nutrient‐dense and prepared more frequently during the day than the family diet. Many products can be used as complementary foods, but the most widely consumed and nutritionally cost‐effective products are composite flours used for porridge, typically made from a starchy staple (e.g. maize, rice or wheat) and mixed in fixed ratios with a legume flour (e.g. roasted soya beans) and other ingredients. The global market for composite‐flour infant foods is dominated by one multinational brand, despite the fact that many competitors actively produce alternatives at the same or much lower cost. This study provides the first global study of such products, including laboratory tests of the actual nutrient content for 109 samples purchased in 22 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. We find the nutrient content of locally‐made products are highly variable with many products offering nutritional profiles comparable to international standards, while others have much lower density of both macronutrients and micronutrients. This finding helps explain why caregivers rarely buy products other than heavily advertised multinational brands, whatever their cost and despite the high quality of some local alternatives. Third party certification could help sellers signal quality and expand access to safe, nutritious and affordable complementary foods across the developing world.</jats:p>