Potential for improving nutritional adequacy of complementary foods for Ethiopian infants by malting corn and adding fish powder

This study tested viscosity effects of malting corn and adding indigenous fish powder to infant porridge. For malting, 24 h soaked corn was germinated for 96 h and solar dried. Fish were cleaned, washed with potable water, soaked in 5% lemon juice and rinsed in salt solution before solar drying. After processing with a hand mill, the fish flour was further sieved to remove tiny bones. For fortified porridges corn and fish powder were combined in a 5:1 mix. Malted corn (MC) powder produced much thinner porridge than unmalted corn (UMC) and enabled more malted dry matter to be used with an acceptable consistency for infant feeding. Using MC, 42.5% of the final cooked weight came from dry matter versus only 15.5% with UMC. Energy density of UMC porridge was calculated to be 0.6 kcal/g while that of MC porridge was 1.5 kcal/g and protein content of MC porridge was increased by 162%. Energy density of the fish‐fortified MC porridge was calculated to increase by 153% while protein density increased by 218%. For 6–8 months old infants (with medium breast milk intake) needing 356 kcal/d from complementary food, the porridge required was reduced from 648g to 244g as a result of using MC or to 233 g when fish‐fortified MC flour was used. Fortification of infant porridges with fish holds promise but further food safety testing will be required. Based on our results germinating corn should be encouraged for preparation of complementary foods. Germinating corn will decrease water absorbing capacity of the food and thus provide needed nutrients within the gastric capacity of an infant.