Small Scale Fortification Network!

The idea for an international network on the subject of small scale food fortification sprang from the Micronutrient Initiative meeting recently held in Canada. Local NGOs CARE, Oxfam, and World Vision, are seeking to exchange information with other organisations who, like themselves, may have experience of community based food fortification projects in Africa, or elsewhere. These projects relate to 'small scale fortification' defined as less than 3MT/day. Potential commodities include corn, millet and possibly wheat, with a multinutrient premix.
Interested parties wishing to communicate on this topic should do so through Dominique Bounie⁵ who has offered to collate and disseminate the correspondence.

Below is an outline of the type of information so far exchanged on this subject:
Field trials conducted a few years ago on fortification of Unimix blended (extruded) flours¹.
'Nutriset' provision of different multinutrient premixes (minerals + vitamins)².
Preparatory studies by WFP on the fortification of blended flours at camp level (milling + supplementation)³.
'Alicom' software developed at ORSTROM-Montpellier by Serge Treche. The software calculates optimum food rations based on nutritional specifications and budget constraints. The package could also be adapted to formulate specifications for adding premix to locally available commodities⁴.
A pilot extrusion plant (low cost, low capacity, i.e. <50kg/hr) developed at Lille University, France⁵.
The Royal Institute for the Tropic's (Netherlands) extensive experience in setting up small scale blended food production units at community level in several countries⁶.
The Zambian National Food & Nutrition Commission's plan to start a trial re: fortification of maize meal at hammer mill level⁷.

Contacts for further information:

¹Claudine Prudhon at ACF-France, Fax: 33-1-45650938. or e-mail: 101465.245@compuserve.com.

²Michel Lescanne, Nutriset, Bois Du Roule, F-76770 Malaunay, France.Tel: 33-2-32 82 86 00.

³Peter Dijkhuizen at WFP - Rome.

⁴Serge Treche, ORSTROM, Laboratoire de Nutrition Tropicale, 911 Avenue Agropolis, BP 5045, F-34032 Montpellier 01, France; Tel: 33-4-67 41 62 95. Fax: 33-1-67 54 78 00

⁵Dominique Bounie, IAAL (Institut Agro-Alimentaire de Lille),USTL (Universitie des Sciences et Technologies de Lille) - Cite Scientifique, Batiment C6, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex-France. Tel: 33-0-320434921. Fax: 33-0-3-20434486 e-mail: dominique.bounie@univ-lille1.fr
Internet URL: http://www.univ-lille1.fr

⁶Willem Wurdeman, The Royal Institute for the Tropics, Mauritskade 63, 1092 AD Amsterdam, Netherlands. Tel: 31-20-5688224.

⁷Annoek Van Den Wijngaart, Associate Professional Officer, Nutrition, WHO, P.O. Box 32346, Lusaka, Zambia. Tel: 260-1-227803, Fax: 260-1-223209, e-mail: annoek@Zamnet.zm