First Day at Bevier!

VOCAB

Fortify: adding nutrients to foods that may not necessarily contain them naturally

Enrich: enhancing the nutrients already existing in certain foods

Nutrigems: blend of micronutrients mixed with flour, oil, and water to create a dough, dough is then processed through an extruder, dried, and broken into rice sized pieces. These pieces are then added to the rice and given to children.

Corn Soy Blend (CSB): mix of corn and soy used to create a sort of powder that is added to broth making a very thick, yet nutritious, gruel (Fortunately, I will get a chance to eat some this semester...)

My first day was packed with all kinds of new information, but extremely rewarding. I first met in Dr. Juan Andrade's office to discuss the projects we would be working on during the semester. I also met Pablo Torres, a visiting graduate student from Zamorano University in Honduras, working under Dr. Andrade. The three of us then discussed two food fortificants that would come up during the semester: Nutrigems and Corn Soy Blend. After discussing how they were made, distributed, and cooked, we went on to how they were received in developing countries. I learned that international nutrition is not only about creating a product high in nutrients and then giving it to a consumer and expecting them to use it. People are creatures of habit. Whether due to the mother's lack of knowledge as far as cooking with the new product, or the fact that the kids don't want to eat corn-soy gruel everyday, most of these highly researched products end up being fed to the animals. After more discussion we visited the labs we would be working in and where I would check in everyday. Before leaving I received nine journal articles containing over 100 pages of reading. I was extremely overwhelmed! The titles themselves contained words I could barely pronounce. Still, I was excited by the opportunity of learning more about international nutrition. From what I have already experienced, I have already affirmed that this is a career I would love to be a part of some day.