Home-processing of the dishes constituting the main sources of micronutrients in the diet of preschool children in rural Burkina Faso.

The diet of 200 randomly selected 1-year-old to 5-year-old children was studied in a rural area of Burkina Faso. The mothers took part in a questionnaire survey and a 24-h dietary recall to index the type and the ingested quantities of the food consumed by the child the previous day. The average percentages of the Recommended Nutrient Intake met by the consumption of a dish component per meal did not exceed 25% for energy, iron, zinc and vitamin A. With respect to their initial composition and the quantities ingested, several dish components such as starchy-based products (millet-based-tô) or sauces (red sorrel leaves, dried okra) were good sources of micronutrients in the children's diets. Several dish components were selected and their preparation observed in six households to obtain precise details of the recipe. Several ingredients (42) and unit operations (nine) were used to prepare the local foods. Cooking in water (boiling), which was the main unit operation, did not exceed 43 min and the temperature used was under 100 degrees C. Several ingredients were subjected to two or three thermal treatments and the duration of cooking reached 56 min in groundnut sauce. The most at-risk unit operations likely to decrease the nutritional quality were cooking in water followed by draining or cooking for a long time.