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International audience; Long-life cycle pulses have significant food security potential, however, there is little evidence to explain why they are not more widely produced and consumed in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study aimed at exploring existing knowledge to inform on future research priorities in mainstreaming superior species. As staple food along with cereals, pulses are an important source of nutrients whose intake is often inadequate in SSA, however, pulse consumption remain inadequate in SSA. Depending on the crop's life cycle, pulses have multiple functions that can support food systems and ecosystem resilience. Compared to short-life cycle pulses, long-life cycle pulses rank higher in multipurpose role. However, prior research has focused primarily on short-life cycle pulses due to rapid grain production. Long-life cycle pulses remain underutilized and neglected despite showing steady but modest yield increases and adaptation to environments, suggesting that they are better positioned to respond to the diverse needs of smallholder farmers in SSA. In the context of climate change, rain-fed agriculture, depleted agricultural soils, and lack of subsidized fertilizers, there is need to transform existing food systems toward sustainable food production and improved resilience. Increasing pulse agrobiodiversity by integrating long-life cycle pulses in existing farming systems could not only contribute in alleviating malnutrition, but also poverty and inequalities. In addition, representative and accurate data are needed based on the correct use of accepted scientific names for all data across the food system. This is a prerequisite for assessing pulse consumption adequacy and quantifying production and consumption trends.

International audience

Biofortification is among the food-based strategies, recently implemented and still in development, to fight micronutrient deficiencies. Three cereal-based traditional dishes of Sub-Saharan Africa (to paste, pancakes, and gruel) prepared from one local (Gampela), or two biofortified (GB 8735 and Tabi) varieties of millet were assessed for their (i) acceptability by local consumers, (ii) iron and zinc absorption predicted by phytate-to-mineral molar ratios and (iii) contribution to the iron and zinc requirements of young children. Tasters preferred the color, texture, and taste of dishes prepared with the local variety, whether or not the grains were decorticated. Hedonic and preference tests showed no significant difference between the two biofortified varieties, but the cooks reported different behaviors during processing. Biofortified millet contained up to two times more iron than the local variety, reaching 6.5 mg iron/100 g dry matter. Iron and zinc contents remained higher in biofortified varieties even after decortication. Iron content in the dishes was highly variable, depending on iron loss and potential contamination during processing. The phytate-to-mineral molar ratios of all dishes indicated low iron absorption, independent of the millet variety, but improved zinc absorption in dishes prepared with biofortified varieties. The contribution of a dish prepared with one of the two biofortified millet varieties to the recommended iron and zinc intakes for 6-11-month-old children was estimated to be about 5 and 7%, respectively, compared to 2 and 4% for the same dish prepared with local millet. For 12-23-month-old children, the contribution to the recommended intakes was estimated to be about 14 and 12% with biofortified millet, respectively, and about 6 and 7% with local millet. The use of biofortified millet varieties could be complementary to food diversification strategies to increase iron and zinc intakes. As in Ouagadougou, cereals are eaten in different forms by young children several times per day, iron and zinc intakes could be improved in the long term by using the biofortified varieties of pearl millet.

The effects of soaking and cooking on soluble sugars, alpha-galacto-oligosaccharides (alpha-GOS) and soluble dietary fibres (SDF) and insoluble dietary fibres (IDF) were assessed in five legumes (lentil, chickpea, fenugreek, faba bean and Egyptian faba bean). In raw seeds, total alpha-GOS content ranged from 2500 mg/100 g (chickpea) to over 4000 mg/100 g (fenugreek). Stachyose was predominant in fenugreek, lentil and chickpea, whereas verbascose was the main alpha-GOS in faba bean and Egyptian faba bean. IDF represented 69-87% of the total dietary fibres in all studied legumes, while SDF content varied noticeably. During soaking, total alpha-GOS content decreased between 10% (lentil and faba bean) and 40% (chickpea). In fenugreek, soaking reduced IDF and increased SDF concentration, possibly due to partial IDF solubilisation from the cell wall. Cooking further decreased alpha-GOS and increased total dietary fibre content. The different behaviours of these five legumes during processing illustrate the high biodiversity within legume species.

Tunisia is a typical country of the Mediterranean region where high prevalence of overweight, obesity and noncommunicable diseases co-exist with some micronutrient deficiencies, and diet-related environmental issues must be addressed. Individual food choices may influence both health and environment. The aim of this study was to identify diets that are nutritionally adequate, culturally acceptable, and with low environmental impact for Tunisian adults. Individual dietary data from a national Tunisian survey on food consumption (n = 7209, 35-70 years) and the national food composition table were used to estimate the food and nutritional content of the mean observed (OBS) diet. The diet environmental impact was assessed through seven metrics: water deprivation, land-use, land-use potential impacts on biodiversity loss, erosion resistance, mechanical filtration, groundwater replenishment, and biotic production. Quadratic optimization models were implemented to obtain diets that met the nutritional recommendations, and concomitantly respected increasingly stringent environmental constraints and minimized the departure from the OBS diet. Without environmental constraints, the nutritional recommendations were met by increasing the amount of dairy, starch and vegetables, and decreasing foods high in fat/salt/sugar (HFSS) and added fat. Compared with the OBS diet, the environmental impact of this diet increased: + 32% for water deprivation and + 46-48% for land use and its impacts. When a moderate environmental impact reduction (= 40%) required substantial changes that might compromise the optimized diet acceptability. Targeting a nutritionally adequate diet without considering its environmental impact might increase water deprivation, land use and its impacts on biodiversity and soil quality. In Tunisia, moving towards healthy diets with lower environmental impact relied more on redistributing the sources of animal-based products rather than on reducing their total contribution, together with a decrease of HFSS and added fats, and an increase of vegetables. Actions to favor the adoption of such dietary changes by consumers should be explored to promote more sustainable diets in the Mediterranean region.

Ce numéro est constitué d’articles issus de la seconde édition des Rencontres Francophones sur les Légumineuses (RFL2) qui s’est tenu à Toulouse (France) les 17 et 18 octobre 2018.; A cross-sectional survey have been conducted among a sample of 641 adults aged from 19 to 65 in Cotonou, an urban area in Benin. We collected information on the socio-economic status of the household, the frequency of consumption of legumes and cowpea-based dishes and on the reasons of non-consumption of those dishes. We also evaluated the quantities consumed for each dish using a food portion photograph books presenting different sizes of these cowpea foods. The study showed that cowpea is a very popular legume consumed by the population because only 2% of the population interviewed are not consumers. In Cotonou, nine cowpea-based dishes have been identified. Among them, the percentage of consumption during the last week before the survey varied highly and the most cowpea’s dishes consumed are the stews (in local name: Vêyi and Abobo) and the donuts (in local name: Ata and Ata-doco) (72% and 60% of cowpea’s consumers respectively). However, digestive problems encountered after the consumption of legumes appear to be the factor that decrease cowpea consumption.; Une enquête transversale a été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 641 adultes âgés entre 19-65 ans dans la ville de Cotonou au Bénin. Le questionnaire d’enquête visait à recueillir des informations sur le niveau socio-économique du ménage, la fréquence de consommation des légumineuses et des plats à base de niébé, les raisons de non-consommation et les quantités consommées pour chaque type de plat (estimation faite à l’aide d’un « catalogue photo » représentant des portions de différentes tailles). L’étude a montré que le niébé est une légumineuse très consommée par la population car seulement 2% des enquêtés se sont déclarés non-consommateurs. Neuf plats à base de niébé ont été recensés, avec des fréquences de consommation variables: 72% et 60% des consommateurs de niébé le consomment sous forme de ragoût (variante Abobo et Vêyi) et de beignets (Variante Ata et Ata-doco) respectivement. Cependant, les problèmes digestifs souvent rencontrés après la consommation des légumineuses freinent parfois la consommation du niébé.

International audience; Adequate complementary foods are needed to help reduce the high prevalence of stunting in children in many Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). We assessed the availability, affordability, and nutrient adequacy of imported and locally produced processed cereal-based blends (PCBBs), marketed as complementary food for young children in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal. In total, 19 local producers and 275 points of sale in the four countries were surveyed to evaluate the quantities and accessibility of PCBBs. In addition, 32 PCBBs were analysed for their nutritional composition and packaging information. The results showed that only 7 out of 32 PCBBs could be classified as nutritionally satisfactory. Access to the products was insufficient in all surveyed settings. At the points of sale, the PCBB market was dominated by imported products, even though two out of four imported PCBBs were not nutritionally satisfactory. Imported PCBBs were two to three times more expensive than locally produced PCBBs. Labelling of the PCBBs was inadequate in many aspects. Technical support should be offered to local PCBB producers to ensure the adequate formulation and supply of an appropriate vitamin and mineral premix. The development of national specific regulations on PCBB composition and labelling is strongly recommended in these countries.

Adding amylase to fortified blended foods can improve energy density, and increase child's energy and nutrient intake. The efficacy of this strategy is unknown for the World Food Programme's Super Cereal Plus (SC+) and Super Cereal (SC) blends. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the increased energy intake from amylase-containing SC+ and SC compared to control porridges in Burkinabe children. Secondly, energy intake from amylase-containing porridges compared to CERELAC((R)), Vitazom, and eeZeeBAR was studied. Thirdly, caregivers' (n=100) porridge acceptability was investigated. The design was a randomized double-blind controlled cross-over trial studying the effect of amylase addition to SC+ and SC flours on porridge energy and nutrient intake in healthy Burkinabe children aged 12-23 (n=80) and 24-35months (n=40). Amylase added to porridges increased energy density from 0.68 to 1.16kcal/g for SC+ and from 0.66 to 1.03kcal/g for SC porridges. Among children aged 12-23months, mean energy intake from all porridges with amylase (135-164kcal/meal) was significantly higher compared to control SC+ porridges (84-98kcal/meal; model-based average). Among children aged 24-35months, mean energy intakes were also significantly higher from all porridges with amylase added (245-288kcal/meal) compared to control SC porridges (175-183kcal/meal). Acceptability of the porridges among caregivers was rated neutral to good, both for amylase-added and non-amylase-containing porridges. These findings suggest that, among 12-35-month-old, adding amylase to fortified blended foods significantly increased energy and consequently nutrient intake per meal by 67% for SC+ and 47% for SC. Moreover, amylase-containing porridges were well accepted by the caregivers.

Evaluation de la teneur en fer et de sa biodisponibilité d’un plat traditionnel méditerranéen à base de corète. Journées francophones de nutrition (JFN 2016)

Objective In developing countries, the complementary feeding period is critical to the growth of children, notably because of inappropriate complementary feeding practices. A longitudinal study was carried out in a food vulnerable area in Burkina Faso to better understand and describe these practices. Methods A cohort of 114 children was followed at the ages of 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 mo. At each visit details on the complementary foods (CF) were recorded and intakes were measured by direct weighing. Results At 6 mo of age all infants were breastfed and 61% were still breastfed at 24 mo. Infants not receiving any CF were 97% at enrollment, 53% at 9 mo, and 11% at 12 mo (mean age of introduction = 9.2 ± 1.7 mo). Porridge was the type of CF introduced first (46%) but was of poor diversity; special dishes were less often given but did contain more numerous ingredients. However, less than half of the children received the recommended minimum of four different food groups/d before being 2 y old. At 12 mo and after, more than 75% of the children had at least 3 meals/d. Quantities of CF consumed increased from 133 ± 121 g/d (19 ± 17 g per kg of body weight/d) at 9 mo to 480 ± 237 g/d (49 ± 25 g/kg/d) at 24 mo (for breastfed children). Conclusion Late introduction of CF and poor diversity of ingredients, more than quantity of food, were the main weaknesses observed in this context. At least part of these issues can be addressed through educational activities.