Nutritional Intervention Research Unit
Research highlights
Food
fortification
- The NIRU has developed
and tested a micro-nutrient fortified biscuit aimed at combating micro-nutrient
deficiencies in primary school children.
This biscuit is unique
because the baking mixture includes shortening derived from red palm oil,
which is free of trans fatty acids. Red palm oil is a rich natural source
of ß-carotene, other carotenoids and antioxidant vitamin E constituents.
Thus, the need to add synthetic ß-carotene and synthetic antioxidants
to the biscuit is eliminated.
The shortening was
developed through close collaboration between NIRU, the Malaysian Palm
Oil Board and Carotino SDN BHD, Malaysia.
This biscuit has now
been commercialised and is available on the South African market under
the registered trademark "Carotino Enriched Biscuit".
- NIRU conducted the
first national survey on the iodine content of household salt on a representative
sample of the South African population.
Our research on the
gradual regression of goitres following the introduction of mandatory
iodisation is internationally considered to be one of the definitive studies
indicating that the goitre rate is not an appropriate outcome indicator
of iodine deficiency disorders in populations recently exposed to national
iodisation.
Food
diversification
An NIRU research study proved that a home-garden programme promoting the production
and consumption of yellow fruits and vegetables significantly improved the
vitamin status of participants in a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa.
In this instance, local
women and community health workers were trained to collect food consumption
data, to monitor the growth rates of children and to do rapid assessments
of health and nutritional status.
This project was awarded
a Nutrition Society prize and also received a Peace Garden Award acknowledging
its contribution towards poverty alleviation in communities. NIRU has subsequently
received numerous requests for extending the project to other rural areas.
Community-based
nutrition surveillance
In Langebaan,
another community-based nutrition research project was transferred successfully
to the local clinic, thereby extending the capacity of the health facility
in monitoring growth and nutritional status of the preschool children in the
community effectively.
This nutrition surveillance
research project also created jobs for a few unemployed women in the community
who received training in anthropometry and growth monitoring which equipped
them with skills to monitor nutritional status and to identify and refer those
children who need nutritional support, to the health facility.
If this Health Facility-based
Nutrition Programme proves to be successful, its extension to other health
facilities could make a significant contribution towards improving the health
and nutritional status of preschool children countrywide.
Another
highlight
Prof Pieter Jooste was recently elected as Secretary of the International Council
for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD). He will serve in this
capacity on the Board of the ICCIDD for three years. |
