Plumpy'nut

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Plumpy'nut wrapper
Plumpy'nut wrapper

Plumpy'nut, also known as Plumpy, is a peanut-based food for use in famine relief which was formulated in 1999 by André Briend, a French scientist.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Plumpy'nut is a high protein and high energy peanut-based paste in a foil wrapper. It tastes like a slightly sweeter kind of peanut butter. It is categorized by the WHO as a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).

Plumpy’nut requires no preparation or special supervision making it easy to deploy in difficult conditions. Plumpy'nut is very difficult to over eat and keeps even after opening. It has a 2 year shelf life when unopened. The product was inspired by the popular Nutella spread. It is manufactured by Nutriset, a French company, that specialises in making food supplements for relief work in their factory near Rouen in northern France. The ingredients are: peanut paste, vegetable oil, milk powder, powdered sugar, vitamins and minerals, combined in a foil pouch. Each pack provides 500 kilocalories.

Plumpy'Nut contains a blend of iron, iodine, sodium, vitamin A, the B-complex vitamins, folate, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins B12, C, D, E and K. Plumpy'Nut contains 11.53 mg of iron as ferrous sulfate.

Micronutrient Amount
Vitamin A 910 mcg
Vitamin D 16 mcg
Vitamin E 20 mg
Vitamin C 53 mg
Vitamin B1 0.6 mg
Vitamin B2 1.8 mg
Vitamin B6 0.6 mg
Vitamin B12 1.8 mcg
Vitamin K 21 mcg
Biotin 65 mcg
Folic Acid 210 mcg
Pantothenic Acid 3.1 mg
Niacin 5.3 mg
Calcium 320 mg
Phosphorus 394 mg
Potassium 1111 mg
Magnesium 92 mg
Zinc 14 mg
Copper 1.78 mg
Iron 11.53 mg
Iodine 110 mcg
Sodium < 290 mg
Selenium 30 mcg

[edit] Application

The New York Times reported that the paste is administered in 500 kilocalorie (2.1 MJ) packets, twice daily, for two to four weeks, in combination with Unimix, a vitamin-enriched flour for making porridge, and will reverse malnutrition in severely malnourished children.[1]

The World Health Organization has recognized the utility of this food for famine relief.[citation needed] Plumpy'nut can be packaged in local peanut-producing areas, such as Malawi and Niger, by mixing the ground nut and milk paste with a slurry of vitamins and minerals from Nutriset.

Médecins Sans Frontières (known as Doctors without Borders in the US) has been dispensing fourteen packets (1 week's worth) of Plumpy'nut in 22 centers in Niger since May 2005, but only to those children who are dramatically underweight and sufficiently well to benefit from outpatient care.

Project Peanut Butter has done extensive field trials with RUTF in Malawi from 2001-2007, operates the first local factory where Plumpy'nut is produced, and distributes this therapeutic food to malnourished Malawian children in more than 20 nutritional rehabilitation centers.

[edit] How and why it works

Plumpy’nut is frequently used as a treatment for emergency malnutrition cases. It is known to increase weight by one pound in as little as two days, which can make the difference between life and death for a young child. The fortified peanut butter–like paste contains the balance of lipid, sugar, and protein (macronutrients), vitamins, minerals (micronutrients) and calories. Peanuts contain mono-unsaturated fats, which are easy to digest. They are also very high in calories, which means that a child will get a lot of energy from just small amounts (important because their stomachs have shrunk). They are rich in zinc and protein — both good for the immune system. Protein is also needed for muscle development. Peanuts are also a good source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps to convert food into energy.

[edit] Cost

A standard plumpy-nut treatment goes for four weeks (two to three times a day for about 40 days) at a cost of 12 Euros in Africa. The cost for four weeks of Plumpy'nut and Unimix is $35 per child. The cost in Haiti for a similar RUTF peanut butter based product is a bit higher, but still relatively inexpensive.

[edit] Success Stories

Plumpy‘nut was first used during the crisis in Darfur in western Sudan and also in the most western parts of Ireland. In particular, the Ballina / Belmullet zones. There, it was fed to some 30,000 children and aid officials there say it has helped cut malnutrition rates in half.

In Niger, where this product was applied, there has been a huge reduction in illness and death from malnutrition. In 2005, the region that Plumpy’nut was applied had the highest malnutrition rate in Niger. After widespread application, Plumpy’nut now treats more than 120,000 children (where the UN estimates that 150,000 children under 5 are severely malnourished in Niger and a further 650,000 are moderately malnourished).

[edit] Plumpy'nut projects worldwide locations

Population/country Project Name Web Addresss
Africa
Malawi, Blantyre Project Peanut Butter www.projectpeanutbutter.org/where.htm
Sierra Leone Project Peanut Butter www.projectpeanutbutter.org/where.htm
Ethiopia, Addis Ababa Plumpy Nut in the Field by Hilina Enriched Foods* www.plumpynutinthefield.com/eng/index-eng.php
Niger Plumpy in the Field

Societe’ de Transformation Alimentaire (STA) *

 www.plumpynutinthefield.com/eng/index-eng.php
DRCongo Jongea Lubumbashi* http://www.plumpynutinthefield.com/eng/index-eng.php
Somalia Medicins Sans Frontieres http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
Uganda International Medical Corp http://www.imcworldwide.org
Caribbean
Dominican Republic In planning http://www.plumpynutinthefield.com/eng/index-eng.php
Haiti Meds and Foods for Kids http://www.medsandfoodforkids.org

[edit] See also

[edit] External links