Life-Saving Paste Transforms Malnutrition Recovery
Peanut-Based Food Offers Lifeline for Starving Children Globally
A simple, peanut-based paste, requiring no water or refrigeration, is revolutionizing the fight against severe acute malnutrition. This innovative food can be stored for years and offers a cost-effective, life-saving solution for vulnerable children, particularly in crisis-stricken regions.
Revolutionary Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food
The remarkable development, known as Plumpy’Nut, was pioneered by French pediatrician **André Briend** and manufactured by Nutriset. Introduced in 1996, it was the first ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). These nutrient-dense pastes have dramatically increased survival rates for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, pushing them from below 25% to an impressive 90%.
A single 92-gram foil pouch delivers 500 calories and nearly 13 grams of protein. Just a couple of daily servings can result in a 10% weight gain over six weeks. Crucially, the cost to save a child’s life with this paste is incredibly low, averaging just 71 cents per serving.
“It’s incredibly effective emergency food. RUTF contains all the essential nutrients required for someone to recover from severe acute malnutrition. They’re easy to transport, extremely energy dense, and don’t require a cold supply chain or clean water to work.”
—Steve Collins, Medical Doctor and Founder of Valid Nutrition
Global Impact and Innovations
Plumpy’Nut has been credited with saving tens of millions of lives worldwide. While Nutriset led the way, other manufacturers now produce similar RUTFs. For instance, Mana, an American company, produces its RUTF in Fitzgerald, Georgia, with a capacity to create enough product daily to feed 10 million children annually.
Prior to RUTFs like Plumpy’Nut, treating severe acute malnutrition—characterized by extremely low weight-for-height and small arm circumference in children under five—demanded constant care at therapeutic feeding centers. These centers, often in remote areas, relied on high-energy milk powders like F100. However, concerns about water contamination and the spread of disease led to high mortality rates, sometimes around 20%.
The composition of Plumpy’Nut is primarily peanut paste and vegetable oils, providing essential fats, proteins, and energy for recovery. Skimmed milk powder contributes vital dairy protein and amino acids, while sugar enhances palatability and masks the taste of crucial micronutrients, including vitamins A, D, E, B complex, C, and K, as well as minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and zinc.
While a popular anecdote suggests the inspiration for Plumpy’Nut came from a jar of Nutella, the reality stems from **André Briend’s** firsthand experience in the Sahel region. Observing the continued deaths despite water-based solutions, he collaborated with Nutriset founder **Michel Lescanne**. Their innovation involved combining F100 with a spread made from peanuts, a staple crop in malnutrition-prone areas and a natural protein source, along with oil and sugar.
The World Health Organization estimates that in 2022, approximately 45 million children under five suffered from wasting, the most visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition. (Source: UNICEF, 2023)
