VITAMIN A FORTIFIed PEANUT BUTTER - The Official Website of ...

INTRODUCTION
Food fortification has been defined as the addition of one or more essential nutrients to a food,
whether or not it is normally contained in the food, for the purpose of preventing or correcting a
demonstrated deficiency of one or more nutrients in the population or specific population groups
(FAO/WHO 1994). Food scientists have risen to the challenges posed by micronutrient fortification.
Evidence of their success is clearly demonstrated by the number of fortified products on the supermarket
shelves in most developed countries.
The collaborator for this project is a dried mango small-scale company with a capitalization of
more than PhP3M. It has a state-of-the-art drying facilities and has presently availed of the Agricultural
Council Enhancement Fund (ACEF) loan. However, use of its facilities has not been maximized by the
company considering that mango processing is a seasonal activity. The conversion of the plant into a
processing plant for peanut butter will help to maximize its use especially that Bato, Leyte is a peanutproducing
area. Lola Concordia has been trained in cGMP and SSOP and even ready for accreditation.
Furthermore, the ACEF loan requirements included a capitalization counterpart so it is ready for
packaging and other expenses that could be incurred in the commercialization of the product. It is also
one of the food companies included in a Coaching Program of Advocates for Philippine Fair Trade Inc.
(APFTI) and of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Above all, the management has expressed
interest in collaborating with the P-CRSP project investigators (Appendix A). The adoption of the
improved method of Agustin et al. (2006) in fortifying peanut butter by the company seems fruitful.
OBJECTIVES
The general objective of the study was to adopt the improved process for the vitamin A
fortification of stabilized peanut butter in a small company. The specific objectives were to: (1) identify a
small peanut industry to commercialize vitamin A fortified stabilized peanut butter; (2) identify
product/process problems; and (3) standardize the process at LSU and at the collaborator’s facility.
Identification of Collaborators
METHODS
Search and identification of Collaborator was done using a criteria after which, a memorandum of
agreement (MOA) was developed (Appendix A) and signed in separate schedules. Appendix B showed
the signing of MOA by Mrs. Angelina Kuizon and the Co-Investigator, Dr. Lutgarda S. Palomar at the
Office of the Head, Department of Food Science and Technology (DFST), LSU, Visca, Baybay, Leyte on
May, 2005.
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