Development of Homemade Complementary Food: A Comparative Study of Nutritional and Sensory Properties with a Commercial Complementary Food

Abstract

Complementary feeding ensures healthy growth and development of children through the variety of nutritious food introduced in addition to breastmilk. This study developed and compared the nutritional and sensory properties of homemade complementary food with a commercial complementary food. The homemade formulation was prepared, dried in an electric cabinet dryer at 55°C for 8-9hrs and milled together in an electric blender following a specific proportion. Proximate and micronutrient analysis (using a spectrophotometer) were carried out. Sensory evaluation was done on a five-point hedonic scale. Data was statistically analysed using ANOVA (p<0.05). Nutrient analyses revealed that the homemade complementary food had higher proximate (except crude fiber and carbohydrate) and micronutrient (except Iron) contents. Sensory evaluation indicated that 46.7% of the respondents disliked very much the homemade complementary food while 3.3% of them liked very much. In conclusion, the homemade complementary food had higher nutritional composition compared to commercial complementary food.