Combating malnutrition in developing countries
Background
Malnutrition is one of the key responsible factors of health problems in populations in low- and middle-income countries. Owing to its strong contribution to ill health and disability of workers and students, malnutrition is associated with socio-economic instability. Among the reasons for malnutrition is the loss of a large amount of valuable bioactive nutrients along the value chain of food production and processing, (e.g. vitamins, minerals and dietary fibers) in the form of crop losses and by-products (e.g. chemical waste).
Objective
This project should identify opportunities to render large amounts of unused biomass usable. Through the combination of targeted processing steps and natural fermentative processes, substances with a high bioavailability should be made completely available for the human nutrition.
Expected Benefits
- Target country: Utilization of unused nutrient sources and hence, improvement of nutritional status in the local population. Knowledge generation and transfer to the local population and the creation of new jobs are anticipated.
- In Switzerland: 1) This project could allow to Switzerland to act as a pioneer/reference in the field of the fight against food loss thanks to the application of innovative solutions and 2) the processing and trade of food products belongs to the Swiss DNA, as well as the development of high-tech technologies and the humanitarian tradition. The project combines all these competencies and supports Switzerland as an indispensable partner in international debates on these topics.
Contact Information
Carlotta Sartori: , phone: +41 31 910 29 08
School of Agriculture, Forest and Food Sciences, HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences:
