Complementary Foods Consumed by 6-12-month-old Rural Infants in South Africa Are Inadequate in Micronutrients

Objective: To determine the nutrient composition of complementary foods consumed by 6-12-month-old South African infants.

Design: Nutrient intake was determined for infants who were recruited to participate in a randomised controlled trial using a single 24-hour dietary recall.

Setting/subjects: Infants aged 6-12 months (n=475) residing in The Valley of a Thousand Hills, a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Results: Energy and protein intakes from complementary foods were adequate. Infants who consumed infant products (commercially available fortified infant cereals/ready-to-eat canned baby foods/formula milk powder) had significantly higher intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and vitamin C than infants who did not consume any infant products. For infants who consumed infant cereals (n=142), these cereals provided 51% of total iron intake. Infant cereals provided more than 25% of total intake for magnesium, thiamine, niacin and vitamin B12. For infants consuming ready-to-eat canned baby foods (n=77), these products contributed less than 15% of total intake for all the micronutrients. The nutrient density of the complementary diet was less than half the desired density for calcium, iron and zinc. Animal products were consumed by 17% of infants, 26% consumed dairy products and 18% consumed vitamin-A-rich fruit and vegetables during the 24-hour recall period.

Conclusion: The nutrient composition of complementary foods among rural South African infants was inadequate, especially for iron, zinc and calcium. Strategies should be developed to improve the nutritional quality of their diets.