 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
© Copyright 2009 AACC International.
Published January 2009.
Cultural considerations in formulating and marketing locally processed foods: Kenya and Namibia
A. Maretzki. Penn State University, University Park, PA
Maretzki, A. 2009. Cultural considerations in formulating and marketing locally processed foods: Kenya and Namibia. Online. AACC International Cereal Science Knowledge Database
In Sub-Saharan Africa, a cereal grain is often the only ingredient in gruels used both as weaning foods and as a mainstay in the diets of individuals with HIV/AIDS. These gruels are cheap, easy to swallow and digest and unlikely to aggravate vomiting and diarrhea. However, they do not appropriately complement breast milk, nor do they adequately nourish adults with an increased need for energy and essential nutrients. In USAID-funded projects in Kenya and Namibia, we worked with women farmers to form nutri-business cooperatives to process and regionally market nutritious, culturally-appropriate, easy to prepare, shelf-stable porridge mixes using locally grown ingredients. In Kenya, these mixes are marketed as family porridges appropriate for older infants and young children, while in Namibia a mahangu (pearl millet) and cow-pea mix is sold to NGOs for distribution to AIDS-affected households. The ingredients in the Kenyan products were chosen by the women shareholders during workshops in which they prepared and sampled porridges they made from locally-grown commodities. Ingredient ratios were subsequently modified to approximate Codex Alimentarius standards for a cereal-based supplemental food. Nutri-business cooperatives in the Central and Rift Valley produce mixes with several common ingredients (maize, beans, carrot or pumpkin flesh and amaranthus or pumpkin leaves), but there is a culturally significant difference. Wimbi (finger millet) flour is included in the Kipsigis mix while banana flour is contained in the Kikuyu mix. These key ingredients give the mixes a distinctive cultural identity and reflect women’s traditional understanding of what is important to feed young children. When food technologists overlook the importance of indigenous knowledge associated with traditional food crops, the result may be a proliferation of commercial grain-based products in developing countries that closely resemble those sold in European and U.S. supermarkets. Such products are associated with the vicious pattern of chronic disease that Western countries are unsuccessfully working to combat.
©AACC International
- 3340 Pilot Knob Road - St. Paul, MN 55121 U.S.A.
Phone: +1.651.454.7250 or Fax: +1.651.454.0766
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
| Copyright |
Contact AACC International
|
Webmaster