Plumpy’nut - peanut butter based milk replacement for developing and rural communities
Today’s Wall Street Journal had a front page feature about a peanut-based nutrition paste called Plumpy’Nut, manufactured by a company called Nutriset, in France.
Its name is Plumpy’nut, and as its use becomes more widespread, this whimsical-sounding product is helping transform the treatment of malnutrition in children. Each packet, the size of a small juice pouch, weighs less than 100 grams, but packs 500 calories. After several weeks on a diet of Plumpy’nut –brought to the camp by Save the Children, a U.S. aid organization — Sadi was able to stand and walk again. When she spied the silver-and-red packet in her mother’s hand, she said “Plumpy,” stepping forward on wobbly legs and reaching out her hands.
The product is similar to peanut butter or Nutella (a hazelnut spread, popular in Europe), but incorporates a nutrient mix based on previous recommendations for powdered milk. The problem with powdered milk is the absence of sanitary water supplies to mix the powder with. This means that infants and children receiving powdered milk generally need to stay at or near a health center of some sort, rather than at home.
The peanut butter-based product comes in packets, which can be stored (like peanut butter) without special handling, and can be consumed directly, rather than needing to be mixed with water. Even better, the children like it, so it’s easy to get them to eat it.
The product is apparently made in France for around 35 cents per packet before shipping. The WSJ article mentions that there is interest in setting up local producers in the areas that actually need these products. Not sure what’s involved in adding the nutrient mix (milk equivalent) to the peanut butter, but it seems like a great response to the absence of clean drinking water.
The founder, Michel Lescanne, was previously involved in work on theraputic milk-based products based on the F-75 and F-100 formulas from the World Health Organization, which address malnutrition in children, but aren’t easily distributed in the field (and apparently taste bad when mixed into chocolate bars).
Tags: none
