Consumer Acceptance of Yellow; Provitamin A-Biofortified Maize in Kwazulu-Natal

Objectives: To assess the acceptance of popular maize food products (phutu; thin porridge and samp); prepared with yellow; provitamin A-biofortified maize varieties; in 212 subjects between the ages of three and 55 years; from rural KwaZulu-Natal.Design: A cross-sectional study.Method: Preschool; primary school and secondary school subjects were randomly selected from two primary schools and one secondary school; respectively; while adult subjects constituted a convenience sample. Pre- and primary school children completed a paired preference test. Secondary school and adult subjects completed a five-point facial hedonic and a preference ranking test. Focus group discussions were conducted using adult subjects.Results: Preschool children preferred yellow maize to white maize food products: phutu (81 vs. 19; p-value 0.001); thin porridge (75 vs. 25; p-value 0.001) and samp (73 vs. 27; p-value 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in preference for white and yellow maize by primary school children. Secondary school and adult subjects preferred white maize to yellow maize. Focus group discussions confirmed the preference for white maize by the adultsConclusion: The study findings suggest that yellow; provitamin A-biofortified maize has the potential to succeed as a new strategy of dealing with the serious problem of vitamin A deficiency; especially among children of preschool age. However; in older groups; this strategy is unlikely to be successful; unless other strategies are implemented; including intensive nutrition education programmes on the nutritional benefits of the maize; targeting the market price at which yellow maize is sold; increasing its availability in local grocery stores; and improving its sensory properties through breeding

HIV-positive and HIV-negative consumers accept an instant soy maize porridge

The objective of this study was to assess consumer acceptability; preference and consumption intent of an instant soy maize porridge; compared to an instant plain maize porri- dge; in order to determine the successful inclusion of the soy maize porridge as a food supplement for HIV subjects in a subsequent nutrition intervention trial; to improve their nutritional status. A 5-point hedonic and food action rating scale was used for this purpose. HIV-positive (n=57) and HIV-negative (n=47) subjects were recruited on a basis of availability and willingness to participate. Long-term acceptability and compliance of HIV-positive consumers (n=9) was assessed after three and five months. Analysis of variance (ANOVA); Tukey's multiple comparison test and T-tests (p=0.05) were performed. Overall; consumers found the soy maize porridge significantly more acceptable; preferred it to; and also intended to consume it more often than the plain maize porridge. There were no significant differences between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative group regarding acceptability; preference and consumption intent. After three and five months; the HIV-positive consumers (n=9) did not find acceptability of the soy maize porridge significantly different from the first evaluation. It therefore had the potential to be included successfully in the nutrition intervention trial. The current study emphasises the need for sensory evaluation of food products prior to including them in intervention studies; to assess consumers' acceptance of them