Understanding children's acceptability after repeated exposure and household-level behaviors for novel extruded fortified blended foods

Fortified blended foods (FBFs) were developed to deliver sufficient nutrients for children's development. These products must be acceptable to target populations: children who eat the food and caregivers who prepare it. Five extruded FBFs and one current FBF (corn-soy blend plus [CSB+]) were made. Acceptability tests of porridges made from each FBF were conducted with children in Tanzania over a 20-week period. An interview and household visit were conducted to collect information on household behaviors including preparation, consumption, and storage practices. Acceptance testing showed that children's acceptability of porridges of all FBFs increased over time perhaps due to the repeated exposure to the products. However, CSB+ porridge had lower acceptability from children at the end of the study, probably because of the lack of sweetness. Moreover, porridges made from novel FBFs required less cooking time than CSB+ and no ingredients needed to be added compared to CSB+ where sugar and milk were common additions. Novel FBFs have potential as alternative supplementary foods with higher acceptability. The simple cooking for novel FBFs make them valuable to caregivers with limited time and access to energy sources and nutrient-rich ingredients. Practical Applications This study suggests that children may increase liking of some food products after repeated exposure and may increase liking more for some food products than for others over an extended time period. That is true even when those products were equally liked in an initial taste test. In addition, for caregivers, some food products clearly are easier to use and may save on other scarce resources, which may make them more likely to be provided to young children, especially in food aid situations where nutrition is key.