Compliance of fortified maize flour with Tanzania standard for small scale food processors in Morogoro and Dar es Salaam regions

Dissertation

Maize flour fortification was introduced in Tanzania in 2011 in order to address the risk of micronutrients deficiency in children, adolescence and women of child bearing age. Most of fortified maize flours are processed by small scale processors who are exempted from mandatory fortification. They have been carrying out fortification for more than 3 years and it is important to know whether fortification is carried out as per the recommended standards or not. Therefore, the study aimed at assessing the compliance and stability of fortified maize flour processed by small scale processor relative to the recommended national standard (TZS 328:2018- EAS 768:2013), asses the challenges faced by small scale processors to attain compliance and the extent of implementation of fortification practices by small scale processors. A total of sixty-nine (69) samples of fortified maize flour were collected at point of production and retail outlets of Ubungo district in Dar es Salaam region and in Morogoro Municipality in Morogoro region. Micronutrients zinc and iron were analyzed using Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer and folic acid was analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. There was a significance variation (p˂0.05) in mean contents in samples collected from production sites and that of retail outlets with production samples having higher mean contents than retail outlet samples. The mean concentrations of iron, zinc and folic acid of samples collected from production sites were 27.17±1.63 mg/kg, 30.56±2.01 mg/kg and 0.69±0.02 mg/kg respectively, while that of retail outlets were 19.34±0.97 mg/kg, 21.71±1.50 mg/kg and 0.49±0.02 mg/kg for iron, zinc and folic acid respectively. Only 31.6% of the assessed samples from production and 12.9% from retail outlets complied with the recommended national standard. The stability of iron, zinc and folic acid for the fortified maize flour stored at room temperature (20 -32 o C) for six months was 95.8% for iron, 96.9% for zinc and 66.9% for folic acid. The main challenges identified by processors that hindered them to attain compliance include; lack of training on fortification standard and awareness of consumers on fortification. Further investigation on consistency performance of dosifier and consistency of training of workers working in the processing unit on the requirements of fortification standard should be done. The extent of implementation of fortification practice (quality assurance and quality control) by processors to attain compliance as assessed include; cleaning and sanitation, personnel, written procedures or instructions on QA/QC, control of micronutrient premix, control of flour fortification processes and control of fortified flour. It involved a descriptive cross sectional study which was carried out in 38 small scale processing facilities between December 2019 and January 2020 in Ubungo district in Dar es Salaam region and Morogoro Municipality in Morogoro region. Results indicated that 26.3% of the premix were kept open in production area close to milling machine where heat is generated and only 68.4% of fortified maize flour were stored over the pallet. Furthermore, it was observed that only 2.6% of processors had written instructions or procedures that guide them during fortification process to ensure quality and only 13.2% were able to conduct quality assessment to confirm the presence of micronutrients. It is concluded that implementation of quality assurance and quality control practices by small scale processors is not satisfactory. Strengthening of quality assurance and quality control practices to small scale processors is recommended in order to ensure that the targeted groups of people receive safe and quality fortified maize flour with adequate micronutrients.

Tanzania Bureau of Standards