Organoleptic drivers of caregiver-reported acceptability of locally formulated nutrient-dense products formulated from local ingredients for nutritional intervention in nodding syndrome in northern Uganda

Nutritional approaches based on local food resources offer a potential intervention to address nodding syndrome (NS), a chronic neurological condition associated with undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency, with a 4.5% prevalence among children and adolescents in northern Uganda. Most interventions have been medical in nature, but diet influences the onset of such neurological diseases and their associated consequences. This study evaluated the organoleptic drivers of caregiver-reported acceptability of locally formulated nutrient-dense products formulated from local ingredients for nutritional intervention in nodding syndrome in northern Uganda as a potential nutritional intervention. The products were developed from two main energy sources: maize and sorghum, and included orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), silver fish, soybean, iron-rich beans, and chia seeds. A total of 47 untrained panelists, who were caregivers of NS cases, evaluated different organoleptic properties of porridges from the two energy sources using a 5-point Hedonic scale to determine the level of preference for different formulations. Overall acceptability increased with an increase in the proportion of cereals in the composite formulae. The formulation with 70% cereal scored highest, with products from the sorghum-based formula being preferred to those from the maize-based formula. Several food attributes and socio-demographic characteristics significantly influenced the acceptability of the products (p < 0.05). For the maize-based formula, taste, thickness, and education level had a positive influence, whereas texture, age, and the number of children under two years had a negative influence on overall acceptability. For the sorghum-based formula, taste, texture, and age all had a positive influence on overall acceptability. The results demonstrate that composite formulae with 70% cereals are highly acceptable and can be scaled up for consumption by NS having used the caregivers’ acceptability as a proxy for NS patients. The study provides recommendations for the effective delivery of selected formulae in the study context.