CLINICAL ASSAY OF HIGH PROTEIN FOODS

THE LABORATORY SERVES TO TEST, BY HUMAN ASSAY, THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF NEW VARIETIES OF CEREALS AND LEGUMES AND NEW LOW-COST FOOD BLENDS. EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT BY A 10-MEMBER REVIEW PANEL INCLUDED STUDY OF RELEVANT DOCUMENTS AND A 1-DAY MEETING IN WASHINGTON, DC. THE PANEL BELIEVES THAT THE SERVICES PROVIDED TO AID BY THE CONTRACTOR HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE IN DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF NEW LOW-COST FOODS OR NEW CEREAL VARIETIES AND CONVENTIONAL FOOD COUNTERPARTS. SEVERAL NEW FOOD PRODUCTS SCREENED HAVE BEEN FOUND TO IMPROVE NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND ARE CURRENTLY USED IN EXISTING TITLE II AND OTHER FOOD PROGRAMS; HOWEVER, MANY TESTED NEW PRODUCTS WERE SHOWN TO BE OF NO NUTRITIONAL IMPROVEMENT OVER CONVENTIONAL COUNTERPARTS. TESTING OF NEW VARIETIES OF CEREALS IN HUMANS HAS ONLY RECENTLY BEGUN; NEVERTHELESS, PRELIMINARY FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT DIGESTIBILITY OF NEW HIGH-PROTEIN VARIETIES IS AN IMPORTANT INDEX OF MEASURE. DUE TO THEIR LOWER DIGESTIBILITY, CERTAIN HIGHER PROTEIN VARIETIES WERE FOUND TO BE NO BETTER THAN STANDARD VARIETIES. CONTRACTOR HAS ANALYZED SEVERAL RICE VARIETIES FROM IRRI AND HAS TESTED TRIPOSHA, AN EXTRUDED FOOD BLEND PRODUCED BY CARE AND SRI LANKA WHICH IS USED FOR WEANING CHILDREN. WORK HAS ALSO BEEN CONDUCTED ON CORN-SOY-MILK AND WHEY-SOY BLENDS. EVALUATORS RECOMMEND THAT THE PROJECT BE CONTINUED. PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR TESTING SHOULD BE SYSTEMATIZED. AN INTERDICIPLINARY GROUP OF EXPERTS SHOULD BE FORMED TO ASSIST IN SELECTING MATERIALS AND REVIEWING THE RESULTANT TEST DATA. AID SHOULD ALSO DEVELOP PROCEDURES FOR WIDER DISSEMINATION OF PROJECT INFORMATION. CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO STUDY OF DIGESTIBILITY OF FATS AND CARBOHYDRATES, AND CLINICAL ASSAY OF VITAMINS AND MINERALS WHERE APPROPRIATE. HUMAN TESTING IS JUDGED TO BE THE ONLY VALID METHOD FOR EVALUATION OF NEW VARIETIES, ESPECIALLY LEGUMES, WHERE THERE MAY BE UNDESIRABLE FOOD CONSTITUENTS.