Formulation of Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) from Food Waste for the Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The state of malnutrition in Nigeria is alarming, with the country standing as the second-highest prevalence of stunted children in the world. Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) are critical for managing severe acute malnutrition (SAM). However, the effectiveness of RUTF in preventing malnutrition is undermined by its periodic unavailability in Nigeria due to shipping costs, delays, and donor fatigue. This study aims to formulate RUTFs from food waste for the management of SAM. Nutritional composition of the formulated RUTFs was conducted using proximate analysis methods, and sensory evaluation was done using a 5-point rating scale. Findings show that the proximate composition of formulated RUTFs is comparable to that of standard RUTF, with total energy of 507.30 and 492.35 kcal/100g, respectively, for RUTF-AP and RUTF-AV, both slightly higher than 433.70 kcal/100g in RUTF-SD, used as a control in the study, with all samples rated good for all the sensory attributes assessed. It can be concluded that the RUTFs formulated from food wastes had good macronutrients comparable to the standard RUTF. The protein, carbohydrate and lipid needs of children with SAM can be fulfilled by the intake of the formulated RUFTs. It also demonstrated that production of RUTF from locally sourced novel ingredients would meet recommended standards, as well as meet the culinary requirements of the local community.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
1. World Health Organization, FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP. The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2024. Rome: FAO; 2024.
2. Madewell ZJ, Keita AM, Das PM, Mehta A, Akelo V, Oluoch OB, Omore R, Onyango D, Sagam CK, Cain CJ, Chukwuegbo C. Contribution of malnutrition to infant and child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. BMJ Glob Health. 2024;9(12): e017262.
3. Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Nigeria (FMoHSW), National Population Commission (NPC) [Nigeria], and ICF. 2024. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2023–24: Key Indicators Report. Abuja, Nigeria, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NPC and ICF.
4. Bhandari N, Mohan SB, Bose A, Iyengar SD, Taneja S, Mazumder S, et al. Efficacy of three feeding regimens for home-based management of children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition: a randomised trial in India. BMJ Glob Health 2016;1(4):e000144.
5. Medoua GN, Ntsama PM, Ndzana AC, Essa’a VJ, Tsafack JJ, Dimodi HT. Recovery rate of children with moderate acute malnutrition treated with ready-to-use supplementary food or improved corn–soya blend: a randomized controlled trial. Public Health Nutr 2016;19(2):363–370.
6. United Nations Children’s Fund. Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) fact sheet. New York: UNICEF; 2023. Available from: www.unicef.org.
7. Santini A, Novellino E, Armini V, Ritieni A. State of the art of ready-to-use therapeutic food: a tool for nutraceutical addition to foodstuff. Food Chem. 2013;140(4):843–849.
8. Bazzano AN, Potts KS, Bazzano LA, Mason JB. The life course implications of ready-to-use therapeutic food for children in low-income countries. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(4):403.
9. World Health Organization. Guideline on the dairy protein content in ready-to-use therapeutic foods for treatment of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition. Geneva: WHO; 2022.
10. United Nations Children’s Fund. Ready-to-use therapeutic food: market outlook. Copenhagen: UNICEF Supply Division; 2021.
11. UNICEF, World Health Organization, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. Levels and trends in child malnutrition: UNICEF/WHO/ World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates. Key findings of the 2025 edition. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025.
12. UNICEF. Supply Financing, UNICEF, Copenhagen, November 2025. <https://www.unicef.org/supply/supplyfinancing>
13. Owino VO, Irena AH, Dibari F, Collins S. Development and acceptability of a novel milk-free soybean–maize–sorghum ready-to-use therapeutic food based on extrusion cooking. Matern Child Nutr. 2014;10(1):126–134.
14. Osendarp S, Rogers B, Ryan K, Manary M, Akomo P, Bahwere P, et al. Ready-to-use foods for management of moderate acute malnutrition: considerations for scaling up production and use in programs. Food Nutr Bull. 2015;36(1): S59–S64.
15. Choudhury N, Ahmed T, Hossain MI, Islam MM, Sarker SA, Zeilani M, Clemens JD. Ready-to-use therapeutic food made from locally available food ingredients is well accepted by children having severe acute malnutrition in Bangladesh. Food Nutr Bull. 2018;39(1):116–126.
16. Ibok NU, William ET, Adzu B, Zaruwa MZ, Khan ME, Ahmed M. Proximate, Mineral and Amino Acid Analysis of the leaves of Abrus precatorious L. (Hitch). Trop J. Phytochem Pharm Sci. 2023;2(3):82-85.
17. Aitken M. Understanding the role and use of essential medicines lists. IMS Inst Health Informatics. 2015;13:16–39.
18. Banda T, Chawanda K, Tsuchida W, Kathumba S. Report of a pilot program using a milk-free ready-to-use therapeutic food made from soya, maize and sorghum to treat severe acute malnutrition. Food Nutr Bull. 2021;42(1):91–103.
19. World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund. Meeting report: WHO–UNICEF technical consultation on ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF). New York: UNICEF; 2019.
20. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Food wastage footprint: impacts on natural resources – summary report. Rome: FAO; 2013.
21. AOAC International. Official methods of analysis of AOAC International. 21st ed. AOAC International; 2020.
22. AOAC (2019) Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International. 21st Edition, AOAC International, Washington DC.
23. AOAC. Official methods of analysis. 18th ed. Arlington (VA): Association of Official Analytical Chemists 2000:806–842
24. Ishak SF, Mohd Abd Majid H, Mohd Zin Z, Zainol MK, Jipiu LB. Sensorial and physicochemical characterisation of snack bar with gum arabic (Acacia seyal) addition. Food Res. 2022;6(2):319–329.
25. Aderolu AZ, Lawal MO, Sobaloju S. Replacement value of maize with ripe and unripe plantain peels in the diet of juvenile catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822). J Agric Res Dev. 2016;15(1):24–35.
26. Zarei M, Ebrahimpour A, Abdul-Hamid A, Anwar F, Saari N. Production of defatted palm kernel cake protein hydrolysate as a valuable source of natural antioxidants. Int J Mol Sci. 2012;13(7):8097–8111.
27. Onuegbu NC, Nwuka MU, Ojukwu M, Kabu NO. Nutritional evaluation of animal feed formulations. J Anim Res. 2016;1(2):9.
28. Ishaq RA, Adegbegi AJ, Okere SO, Anyanwu GO. Evaluation of locally produced ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for prevention of childhood malnutrition. Trop J. Phytochem Pharm Sci. 2025;4(3):136–140. doi:10.26538/tjpps/v4i3.5.
29. Syraji Y, Papanasam Rajamanickam J, Abadi A, Albene D, Alemu F. Nutritional Composition and Functional Potential of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Landraces Indigenous to the Gamo Zone of Ethiopia. Food Sci. Nutr. 2026;14(1):e71356.
30. Sosanya ME, Nweke GO, Ifitezue LC. Formulation and evaluation of ready-to-use therapeutic foods using locally available ingredients in Bauchi, Nigeria. Eur J. Nutr Food Saf. 2018;8(1):1–10. doi:10.9734/EJNFS/2018/37833.
31. Edafioghor LO, Ibeanu V, Onodugo N, Okorie I. Formulation and nutritional evaluation of ready-to-use therapeutic food using locally available food ingredients. World Nutr. 2025;16(1):21–26.
32. United Nations Children’s Fund. Ready-to-use therapeutic food paste: innovation—RUTF with animal-sourced proteins in place of dairy proteins. Copenhagen: UNICEF; 2023.
33. Kumar P, Sinha RK, Daniel A, Shah H, Sriswan R, Kokane A, et al. Effectiveness of community-based treatment programs for uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition using locally produced nutrient-dense foods: protocol for a multicentric longitudinal quasi-experimental study. BMC Nutr. 2021;7(1):85.
34. Vijay DW, Bhawesh DR. Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF): an overview. Adv Life Sci Health. 2014;2(1):1–15.
35. Sandeep S, Mona V. Nutritional rehabilitation using energy-dense local food as ready-to-use therapeutic food in hospitalized malnourished children. J. Med Trop. 2014;16(1):22–26.
36. Bumba E. Development of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) using locally available foods and assessment of its effectiveness in rats. Unpublished MSc dissertation. Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria; 2023.
37. Amegovu KA, Peter UK, Timothy C. Nutrient and anti-nutrient profile of a local formula from sorghum, peanut, honey and garlic (Metu-2) for treatment of severe acute malnutrition. J. Food Res. 2018;7(2):26–38. doi:10.5539/jfr.v7n2p25.
38. Jibril AB. Nutritional evaluation of a potential ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) formulated from sesame, wheat and soyabeans blends. MSc thesis. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria; 2017. Available from: https://kubanni.abu.edu.ng/items/2014722c-b57e-4266-871f-0e5c0977bce4/full.
39. Briend A, Lacsala R, Prudhon C, Mounier B, Grellety Y, Golden MH. Ready-to-use therapeutic food for treatment of marasmus. Lancet. 1999; 353(9166): 1767-1768.