Savica collaborates with Colorado State University (CSU), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), and SEAFAST Center at Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) to conduct a trial to determine the added value of rice bran to locally produced Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) among children in Jember, East Java province. Rice bran was recently identified as a promising novel ingredient for RUTFs based on its nutritional and prebiotic characteristics, affordability, and accessibility in countries that grow rice as a staple crop. Since SAM remains a public health problem in Indonesia, locally produced RUTFs are required. New policy is underway to enable domestic products, but until that is in place, treatment options are F100/F75 solutions and imported RUTF products, which are more expensive and have to undergo complicated import mechanisms.
This project will support the development of a locally produced innovative RUTF to enhance long-term outcomes in children with SAM.
