Objectives
Nigerian vitamin A fortified wheat flour is used in baking biscuits. The aim of this study is to estimate contribution of biscuits to vitamin A daily requirement of pre-school children in Lagos, Nigeria.
Methods
A three-stage sampling technique was used to select five out of 20 Local Government Areas, 22 wards out of 107, and 1,600 households with under-5 children. Eight cartons of eight commonly consumed brands of biscuits were purchased from markets in Lagos. Pre-tested, semi-structured, interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to collect socio-demographic information about respondentsâ food consumption pattern and 24-hour dietary recall. Pre – and post-storage vitamin A (retinol) content of biscuits was determined at 1 and 2 months storage using HPLC. Contribution of biscuits to U-5 daily nutrient requirement was estimated. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA at p = 0.05.
Results
Children age was 31.4±5.3 months. Pre-schoolers (67.9%) consumed biscuits 4-7times/week. Daily intake of biscuits was 59.8±27.9 g. Biscuits pre- and post-storage vitamin A content was 5.2±4.9 IU/g and 1.9±1.8 IU/g. Biscuits contributed 25.0% (one month) and 6.8% (two months) to daily nutrient requirement of U-5 RDA. Mean biscuitsâ nutrient contribution to U-5 daily requirement was 22.4%. There was a significant difference in consumption of different brands of biscuits and their vitamin A contents. Significant difference also existed in nutrient contributions of different brands of biscuits to U-5 daily nutrient requirement.
Conclusions
Biscuits contributed significantly to vitamin A intake of pre-school-aged children. Nigerian vitamin A premix quality and recommended levels should be revised.
