The protein quality of instant blends for infants and children based on milk or cereals and milk

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Abstract
The protein quality of industrially produced and home prepared milk or cereal-milk based foods for infants and children was evaluated by means of biological assays. The net protein utilization (NPU) values of human milk substitutes based on cow's milk varied between 75 and 78 and the NPU of a soy-based product was found to be 70. Cereal-milk based precooked gruel powders had NPU values of 69 to 77. Furthermore a comparison between industrially processed products and their corresponding home prepared alternatives was made. Although the protein nutritional value was similar in these infant formulas and gruels the total nutritional value of the industrial products, i.e., including the vitamin and mineral content, is more standardized due to supplementation. The NPU assays of some cereal-milk based porridge powders revealed a wide variation (28 to 69); the lowest NPU values reflect the influence of the processing technique. This illustrates the necessity of performing biological evaluations of processed foods.