ARF funded products win Quality Mark in Uganda

Two products of the Applied Research Fund project “Affordable protein fortified cereal products developed in Uganda (Afri-Taste)” received the Q-Mark by Uganda’s standards regulator, which is a great achievement.

Conventionally, cereal fortification efforts to address nutrition challenges have focused on micronutrients traditionally. In a non-conventional approach, the Afri-Taste project by Value Addition Institute (VAI), Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and Food and Nutrition Solutions (FONUS), sought to use a macronutrient enhancement approach to improve the nutritional value of commonly consumed cereals in Uganda/East Africa. Through this research, products enhanced with animal protein from cow’s milk have been significantly improved.

Consequently, the two products Maize Flour-Afri-Taste and Millet Flour-Afri-Taste have won the Q-Mark by Uganda’s standards regulator, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). The Q-Mark is Uganda’s highest local standards mark. The products won this standard approval on first application, which is normally not easy for most local small-scale processors, because the parameters are rigorous. The Q-Mark is a great achievement, because this approval enables VAI to sell the products in East Africa and beyond. The products are now being upscaled.

This product development and improvement through research would not have been possible without WOTRO, the Science for Global Development department of NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research).