Lead Researcher Professor Sunil Sazawal, an expert in child nutrition and Associate Research Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, presented the study results at the World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in Paris last night.
"These findings will have importance for child health globally. It has provided clinical evidence that particular fortified milks can greatly impact on prevention of anaemia, the burden of common acute illnesses in childhood and their growth," Professor Sazawal said.
World Health Organisation statistics show diarrhoeal disease is a leading cause of sickness and death globally among children aged two years and below. Diarrhoea, or watery stools, leads to excessive water loss in children, causing dehydration, which can prove fatal. Loss of nutrients through diarrhoea can cause children to become weak and malnourished as well, affecting their physical growth and lowering their body's resistance to diseases.
The objectives of the New Zealand Milk commissioned trial were to demonstrate the effectiveness of fortified milks in the prevention of childhood illnesses such as diarrhoeal disease, respiratory morbidity, ear infections and iron deficiency anaemia in young children, as well as to observe improvements in their growth.
New Zealand Milk Health Platform Manager Joanne Todd said parents deserve the assurance that the health claims of the products they choose for their children are supported by clinical evidence based on extensive trials.
"Around the world consumers and regulatory authorities have expressed concern about health claims on children's milk products and the varying standards of evidence that back these claims. New Zealand Milk is committed to putting our products through the most rigorous research before making health claims. Through this study, we hope to set a benchmark for products supporting children's health and nutrition," she said.
Findings show fortified milk can prevent major causes of death and sickness in children In the first arm of the study, children who consumed Fernleaf 1+ with Nutri-care - Fonterra full Milk Powder with a special combination of vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C, E and minerals iron, zinc, and selenium - were significantly better protected against diarrhoeal episodes and acute lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, compared to children who consumed a milk powder containing natural levels of the same nutrients.
The results showed that children consuming the milk powder fortified with the bundle of vitamins and minerals were 22 per cent better protected against diarrhoea, 18 per cent better protected against acute lower respiratory infections, 32 per cent better protected against severe respiratory infections, and 88 per cent better protected against measles.
Palm oil 'not a threat' to Philippines coconut oil
The Philippines government's plans to to develop the domestic palm oil industry should not prove a threat to the country's coconut industry, an industry expert has said.
"There is no conflict between coconut oil and palm oil since investing on the latter means you have to be market-driven and private sector led (since it requires a lot of initial investments)," Rolando T. Dy, director of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Center for Food and Agribusiness, said in an interview with Business News.
Growing domestic demand for palm oil, mainly from the food processing sector, means that the sector will receive substantial investment in the coming years, in a bid to minimise the reliance on imports from other producers in Malaysia and Indonesia.
However Dy points out that the coconut and palm oil sectors are both very different, stressing the fact that the oils both have different properties. On top of that he said that the idea that palm oil plantations would replace coconut plantations was unfounded because the two crops both have very different geographical requirements.