Journal of Food Research; Vol. 6, No. 6; 2017 ISSN 1927-0887 E-ISSN 1927-0895 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 45 Nutrient Composition of Cereals-based Complementary Flour and its Nutritional Adequacy in Infants Nutrition Nyabasi Makori 1 , Neema Kassim 1 , Joyce Kinabo 2 & Athanasia Matemu 1 1 Department of Food Biotechnology and Nutritional Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P. O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania 2 Department of Food Technology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences and Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3006. Morogoro, Tanzania Correspondence: Athanasia Matemu, Department of Food Biotechnology and Nutritional Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P. O. Box 447, Arusha-Tanzania. Tel.: 255-787-587-249. E-mail: athanasia.matemu@nmist.ac.tz Received: September 2, 2017 Accepted: October 7, 2017 Online Published: October 20, 2017 doi:10.5539/jfr.v6n6p45 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jfr.v6n6p45 Abstract Evaluation of the quality of complementary flour and its nutritional adequacy in relation to infant’s nutritional requirements was done to four different types of complementary flour (composite cereals with groundnuts, maize, millet and sorghum). The collected samples were analysed for determination of macronutrient, micronutrients and phytate content. The mean protein content in all types of complementary flour was 7.30 ± 2.52 g/100 g. A significant difference in protein content between composite cereals (p ≤ 0.001) and other types of cereals-based foods was observed. Fat and iron content were found to be inadequate in all types of complementary flours. Phytate content ranged from 59.47 - 1176.8 mg/100 g, the highest content was observed in sorghum. On the other hand, the mean iron and zinc content in all types of complementary flour was 5.25 ± 1.35 mg/100 g and 2.99 ± 1.36 mg/100 g respectively. The molar ratios of phytate:iron and phytate:zinc were at a level that would tend to inhibit bioavailability of iron and zinc in 97% and 45% of analysed samples respectively. An association between anaemia and phytate:iron molar ratio (AOR = 4.2, 95%, 1.2 - 6.9) was observed. The quality and adequacy of nutrients in cereal-based complementary flour has shown to be inadequate and likely to be compromised by the presence of phytate. Keywords: complementary flour, proximate composition, nutrient requirement, protein, phytate, anaemia, child growth 1. Introduction In developing countries, malnutrition is still a serious health problem affecting infants and young children (Ahmed, Hossain, & Sanin, 2013; Black et al., 2013; Steiber et al., 2015). Globally and in sub Saharan Africa, 26% and 40%, of children below five years of age are stunted (UNICEF, 2013). In Tanzania, 34.4% of children below five years are stunted and 13.7% are underweight (NBS, 2015). Though causes of malnutrition are diverse and interrelated, inadequate dietary intake during the complementary feeding period is considered to be major contributing factor (UNICEF, 2013). In most cases, cereals and legumes constitute a major portion in formulation of complementary foods, therefore it might be difficult to attain nutritional adequacy for children due to dietary related factors (Okomo et al., 2016). Nutritional deficiency, diseases and disability are considered to be a risk factor of inadequate dietary intake (Kumssa et al., 2015; Muthayya et al., 2013). Nutrition in early life has the greatest influence on child growth, development and survival (Michaelsen, 2015; Skau et al., 2014). Following six months of exclusive breast feeding, appropriate and adequate nutritious complementary food should be introduced. The nutrient content of complementary foods should be adequate and diverse enough to meet the child’s nutritional needs. Infants and young children are vulnerable to inadequate nutrient intake during the period of complementary feeding (6 -23 months), the needs of nutrients during this period is very high to support the high rate of growth while the supply is insufficient to meet the demand (Michaelsen, 2015). The first two years in life provides an opportunity for the child to achieve maximum growth potential but at the same time it is a critical period for growth faltering if the nutritional needs are not attained (Dewey, 2013). Proper physical, cognitive and intellectual development is attained by adequate nutrition in