Acceptability of Novel Formulated Ready to Use Food for Management of Moderate Acute Malnutrition ( MAM ) in Children Aged 6–59 Months in Tanzania: A Facility‐Based Acceptability Trial

Abstract

ABSTRACT Malnutrition contributes to nearly half of all deaths among children below 5 years of age; it is a significant burden of suboptimal development in children who survive. Novel Ready‐to‐Use Food Supplements (RUFs) have been developed to treat moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in children aged 6–59 months in Tanzania. This study aimed to assess the acceptability of these new RUFs, which are made from locally sourced ingredients. A facility‐based acceptability trial was conducted to evaluate the new RUF formulations for MAM management. A total of 317 children aged 6–59 months were systematically randomly sampled and enrolled. Paired preference tests comparing the two novel RUFs (RUF 1 and RUF 5) were performed in Temeke Municipality, Tanzania. For the preference tests, mothers or caregivers received one 100 g sachet of either RUF 1 or RUF 5 daily for 2 days. For the acceptability trial, one sachet was provided every other day for 2 days. Each child tasted one of the novel RUFs on each day. Both novel RUFs demonstrated high acceptability, with over 90% of children accepting them. The mean average rating for RUF 5 was significantly higher than for RUF 1 across all attributes ( p = 0.042). Mothers' or caregivers' liking rates for the porridge were 84.9% for RUF 1% and 87.7% for RUF 5 as MAM treatments. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating local taste preferences and cultural acceptability when developing therapeutic foods.