Enriched cassava flour contains three times more iron than other plant foods. Technology could benefit people on deficient or meat-free diets
Cassava is a very popular food in Brazil. However, part of the tuber is usually discarded by producers as waste. To add value to this food so present on Brazilian tables, researchers developed a technology to enrich cassava leaves. The study had the participation of researchers from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), dthe Agronomic Institute (IAC), from the São Paulo Agribusiness Technology Agency (APTA), and an independent researcher. The result is a flour rich in iron, with nutritional purposes, capable of reducing one of the most common mineral deficiencies in the adult and child population.
"This technology enriches the cassava leaf and makes the food offer almost three times greater iron bioavailability compared to other plant foods”, explains Mário Maróstica, researcher at Unicamp and responsible for the technology.
The biofortification process of dried cassava leaves uses only three raw materials, cassava, a source of iron and water. This allows any producer to generate iron-enriched flour within a cooperative and sell it, either as a final product for the consumer or in raw form for food industries.
The technology had a patent application filed by the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency in National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and is available for licensing by the private and public sector. “We focused on developing a product that is easy to apply industrially. Furthermore, biofortified flour is a dry food, less susceptible to microbial contamination, and has a long shelf life” explains Maróstica.
Cassava flour as an alternative to minimize the effects of hidden hunger
Hidden hunger is the lack of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) essential for basic processes in the human body. Iron deficiency anemia is one of the most reported nutritional deficiencies in the world, which can result in cognitive and growth problems, low academic and professional performance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hidden hunger affects one in four people.
It is necessary for people to be able to eat well every day to maintain a healthy diet. However, 25% of the world's population is in a situation of nutritional vulnerability. Ao analyze iron consumption in the population, an research carried out in the country concluded that one in three Brazilian children suffers from iron deficiency anemia, corresponding to 20% of Brazilian children. “When we offer a food rich in iron, we can improve the diet of individuals who do not consume meat or who cannot consume enough meat that day”, says the researcher.
Other benefits of flour
The iron biofortification process in dry cassava leaves also increased the bioavailability of food proteins. “After the enrichment process, the availability of proteins in the dry cassava leaf increased. Not the amount present in the food, but its bioavailability. In other words, the consumer of this flour will have a greater absorption of protein compared to an untreated food”, explains Maróstica.
Another aspect that the researcher highlights in the cassava leaf biofortification process is the fact that the technology does not involve genetic improvement, that is, the food is not characterized as transgenic. “Many people are reluctant to consume transgenic foods, but our process does not produce any genetic changes in the food,” he says.
The expected audience for this food is diverse: people who lack the financial resources to maintain a balanced diet, those who seek alternative sources of iron and those who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, who may be affected by low intake of the mineral as they do not consume meat, the greatest source of iron for the body. The agro-industrial sector can also benefit from the product to supplement animal feed.
From the university to the population
For technological cassava flour to reach the consumer's table, it is necessary for the private or public sector to license the technology. The negotiation process is intermediated by Inova Unicamp. The technology can be applied to companies interested in both the production of raw flour and its use in other foods, such as cassava bread. To find out more about licensing, interested companies or producers can contact Inova in the area Connection with Companies.
Original article published on the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency website.
