Nutritional Intervention Research Unit

NIRU HIGHLIGHTS

Awards/Achievements

Awards
The staff members of NIRU regularly receive awards for their oral or poster presentations at scientific congresses.

Lifetime award of the Nutrition Society of South Africa
The Nutrition Society of South Africa Award is given in recognition of the long term outstanding scientific contributions to nutritional science in the country. This is the most prestigious award of the Nutrition Society of South Africa and recognises outstanding scientific contributions over many years and is only awarded once to a scientist. Three scientists from NIRU have received this award at three consecutive congresses of the Nutrition Society of South Africa. The scientists are: Prof Pieter L Jooste (2006); Dr Petro Wolmarans (2008); Prof Mieke Faber (2010).

Appointment as Professor Extraordinaire
Two NIRU staff members have been appointed as Extraordinary Professors:

• Prof Pieter Jooste, 2008 in the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Centre of Excellence in Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom.
• Prof Mieke Faber, May 2011 at the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape.

Scientific consultations

Fatty acids

• Dr Petro Wolmarans participated in an FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Fats and Fatty Acids in Humans, 10 to 14 November, 2008, in Geneva Switzerland. She was one of the co-rapporteurs at this workshop. New international guidelines for fat and fatty acids were formulated at this workshop and have been published (Wolmarans, Ann Nutr Metab 2009;55:244-272; Wolmarans, In: FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 91, Chapter 13, 2010).
• In 2011, Dr P Wolmarans from NIRU collaborated with Prof Marius Smuts of the North-West University and established a national fatty acid expert group to promote fatty acid research in the country. The expert group’s consensus was to write scientific articles and translate this information for use by the general public, i.e. how much fat in the diet and the type of fat that should be consumed. In future, this information will contribute to a better understanding of the role of fatty acids in health and disease, by scientists and the general public.

Iodine

• Prof PL Jooste, the Interim Director of NIRU, has served since 2001 as secretary, on the executive committee of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD). The ICCIDD is an international organisation consisting of about 600 professionals in 90 countries with a Board of 40 directors and is the only international organisation focusing exclusively on the elimination of iodine deficiency worldwide.
• In 2010 Prof PL Jooste was invited as the facilitator and resource person at the UNICEF/MI Workshop for 8 UEMOA countries (West African Monetary and Economic Union) in Dakar, Senegal, to harmonise and standardise food grade salt standards and laboratory analytical methods for these countries.
• Prof Pieter Jooste and Ms Emmerentia Strydom were invited authors of the 10 year EQUIP anniversary booklet of the Centers for Disease Control (Atlanta, USA), December, 2011, and were specifically recognised for their detailed description of the modified microplate method for the determination of urinary iodine concentration.
• Prof Jooste and Emmerentia Strydom were invited by the Zambian Ministry of Health to review the iodine analytical section of their Food and Drug Control Laboratory in Lusaka, Zambia, in October 2011, to strengthen their capacity to analyse iodine in urine and salt.
• Prof Jooste was invited to serve on an iodine consultation panel of the National Institutes of Health, Washington DC, USA, in 2011 to draft the iodine content of a computer based system that would answer computer queries based on the most recent knowledge of iodine nutrition.
• Prof Jooste serves on the International Iodine Task Force which is updating and revising the current guidelines for assessment of iodine status in populations.

Vitamin A
Dr van Stuijvenberg was invited to be a member of the Key External Experts and Stakeholders Panel for the WHO Global Guidelines on Vitamin A supplementation, published in 2011.

Research highlights

Fatty acid research

• In a randomized controlled trial, it was shown that when school-children received a fish-flour spread, rich in the long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, on their bread for 6 months, their learning ability and memory were improved (Dalton A et al., Prostaglandins, Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2009;80:143-149).

Public health nutrition research

• A study conducted at a Primary Health Care facility showed that nutritionally at-risk children are not effectively identified and targeted for early intervention before they get sick, due to the low priority given to growth monitoring of children as well as social indicators. This research has implications for the achievement of the millennium development goal of promoting child health and survival (Schoeman et al, Public Health Nutr 2006;9:1007-1012).

Iron status research

• Two randomised controlled trials conducted by NIRU showed that the iron compound currently used in the South African national food fortification programme is not effective in improving iron status (van Stuijvenberg et al, J Nutr 2008;138:782-786).
• NIRU researchers collaborated with international researchers in developing a micronutrient powder where iron bioavailability was optimised by using a chelated iron compound, and adding ascorbic acid and phytase. This powder was tested in a randomised controlled trial and significantly reduced iron and zinc deficiency in young schoolchildren (Troesch & van Stuijvenberg et al, J Nutr 2011;141:237-242).  

Multiple micronutrient research

• NIRU researchers lead the South African leg of a multi-centre study that determined efficacy of a food-let-based multiple micronutrient supplement for preventing growth faltering, anaemia and micronutrient deficiency in infants (the other three countries were Peru, Indonesia and Vietnam (Smuts et al., J Nutr 2005;135:631S-638S).

Vitamin A status research

• A randomized controlled feeding trial, conducted in a primary school by NIRU scientists, showed that orange sweet potato, naturally rich in the provitamin A β-carotene, is effective in improving liver vitamin A stores in children ( van Jaarsveld et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:1080-1087)
• NIRU collaborated in an effectiveness study that could be seen as a significant landmark for interfacing agriculture and nutrition on a large scale. Several orange sweet potato varieties were analysed for β-carotene content in NIRU’s laboratory. This study was administered by HarvestPlus, a programme of the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in northern Mozambique, where the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency is very high. The 3-year intervention showed that efforts can be scaled up to distribute orange sweet potato for improving dietary vitamin A intake in poor rural communities.
• NIRU and the Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute (VOPI) of the Agricultural Research Council organized a one day symposium on the orange sweet potato that was attended by representatives of the VITAA partnership participating countries and national and international stakeholders. The purpose of the symposium was to provide information on the current status of food-based programmes, research and production of orange sweet potato in South Africa and other African countries, as well as lessons learned from all these programmes.
• The orange sweet potato is one of the provitamin A-rich crops that is promoted in food-based projects, based on the initial Ndunakazi project that showed a positive impact of vitamin A-rich gardens on the vitamin A status of two to five year old children (Faber et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:1048-1054). The food-based approach is the culmination of a long-term collaboration with the Agricultural Research Council from which a manual emanated Home-gardens to address vitamin A deficiency in South Africa: A food-based approach. An overview of the food-based approach is given in Chapter 8 of the book “Combating micronutrient deficiencies: a food-based approach” that was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Based on the extensive work done on the food-based approach, Dr Mieke Faber was invited by the FAO to participate in an African regional workshop on the promotion of fruit and vegetables for Health that was held in Arusha, Tanzania, 26-30 September 2011.
• A study assessing the vitamin A status of an impoverished Northern Cape community where liver, a concentrated source of vitamin A, is frequently eaten, showed vitamin A deficiency to be virtually absent, despite high levels of stunting and underweight. This research questions the relevance of prophylactic high dose vitamin A supplementation for areas where liver is an affordable source of meat (and high in vitamin A) and regularly consumed by the poor (van Stuijvenberg & Schoeman, Public Health Nutr 2012;15:716-724).

Food composition activities

• In 2008 a national body, the South African Food Data Advisory group (SAFDAG), was formed. The aim of SAFDAG is to assist researchers at NIRU to gain access to country-specific food composition data. A national effort is utilized to generate more data for the South African Food Data System (SAFOODS). 
• In 2010 a new book on food composition, Condensed Food Composition Tables for South Africa, was published (Wolmarans et al., 2010). This book contains nutrient information for 1 472 food items and is a compilation of information from the 1991 Food Composition Tables, as well as updated information for five food groups: vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk and milk products and meat and meat products. 
• The SAFOODS website was launched in May 2010 to provide important information on the science of food composition. This website will allow users access to information on the nutrient composition of foods consumed in South Africa and provides valuable links to other websites containing information on food composition activities nationally and internationally.