Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) or Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food (RUSF) has been widely used in home-based treatment for severely and moderately acute malnourished children. These programs showed positive results in short term nutritional recovery in children, which were reported in some research settings. Nowadays, the RUTF/RUSF formulation has been improved using a variety of RUTF/RUSF from locally available food ingredients. This paper aims to review the essential aspects of the development and provision of RUTF/RUSF made from local food resources and monitor program effectiveness that warrants the program’s sustainability. The modified recipes of RUTF/RUSF were developed following the international dietary guidelines for the rehabilitation of severely and moderately acute malnourished children. The local production of RUTF/RUSF provided some benefits that include empowering the local community, consideration of the common eating pattern, promoting the diversification of food consumption, strengthening food security, as well as supporting the sustainability of RUTF/RUSF production. Results of the PRISMA-based systematic literature review revealed various ingredient developments and processing techniques which could improve the product characteristics and sensory evaluation. RUTF/RUSF in local food production provided different food carriers (e.g., biscuits, wafers) and seemed to be more readily accepted by the children. Furthermore, the program sustainability of RUTF/RUSF depends on a continuous ingredients supply and support from the local government. The findings presented the importance of development of such food supplements based on the local food resources and with improved technology for prevention and rehabilitation of malnourished children.

Cocoa bean shell (CBS) is a by-product from cocoa processing which is abundant in Indonesia, one of the largest cocoa-producing countries. It has a great potential for being processed into food ingredients due to its comparable composition to cocoa nibs. The present study was conducted to identify the proximate composition and bioactive compounds in CBS produced at several cocoa industries in Indonesia utilizing different cocoa varieties (Criollo and Forastero) and processing techniques (fermented, non-fermented, pulp washing, and drying), which remain unknown. The results showed that the CBS derived from roasted Criollo cocoa pods in the Kendeng Lembu cocoa industry had ash and protein content of about 8.21% and 18.79%, respectively, which was higher than other industries. Additionally, the concentration of bioactive substances was higher here than it was elsewhere. This included total phenolic (136.2 mg GAE g⁻¹) and theobromine (22.50 mg g⁻¹). The lowest ash and protein concentration found in CBS was from Forastero cocoa pods, non-fermented like Sulawesi cocoa. These values were 6.48% and 15.70%, respectively. The concentration of theobromine (15.40 mg g⁻¹) was also lower compared to other industries.

Undernourishment is a threat to human health. The prevalence of undernourishment remains alarming, especially among children under five years old in many countries, including Indonesia. Nowadays, the handling of undernourishment has shifted to treatment outside the hospital, utilizing local nutrient-rich foods. At the national level, the utilization of local food resources is a part of the promotion of dietary diversification and the bioeconomy. Ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) refers to supplementary foods aimed at improving the nutrition of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) children under five years old. RUSF biscuit recipes were made using local food resources available in Banten province, Indonesia. To optimize the nutritional profile of the developed RUSF, taro/talas banten were mixed with ground-nut/peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and mungbean (Vigna radiata) as protein and lipid sources and red rice (Oryza longistaminata) and maize (Zea mays) as carbohydrate sources, and enriched by the local banana Nangka (Musa textilia). Two formulations were selected for the pilot testing, namely the taro-peanut and taro-peanut/mungbean RUSF biscuits, made from taro Banten, cereal, peanut and/or mungbean, and local banana. The RUSF biscuit showed promising results, presenting a high level of acceptance and a macronutrient composition that meets the standards for MAM children. However, the RUSF biscuits should be fortified with micronutrient premix to fulfill the dietary requirement for the MAM children. The results of this study provide further development opportunities.

Pancakes are fast food snacks that are generally made with wheat flour as the basic ingredients, which is an imported commodity and detrimental for people who are allergic to gluten. To reduce the use of wheat, alternative raw materials derived from local commodities are used, such as modified cassava flour (mocaf), arrowroot flour, and suweg flour. The experiment was carried out by mixing mocaf flour, arrowroot flour, and suweg flour to produce composite flour with a ratio of 70:15:15 (CF1), 70:20:10 (CF2), and 70:20:5 (CF3). The result showed that the ratio of mocaf flour, arrowroot flour, and suweg flour had a significant effect on pasting temperature, peak viscosity, hold viscosity, breakdown viscosity, setback, L*, a*, hue, whiteness, ∆E, as well as swelling volume and solubility on the characteristics of the composite flour. There was also a significant effect on the texture characteristics of hardness, adhesiveness, chewiness, color characteristics L*, a*, whiteness, ∆E, and flavor preference for the gluten-free pancake products. The best formulation to produce pancakes that have characteristics similar to wheat flour-based pancakes was 70% mocaf flour, 15% arrowroot flour, and 15% suweg flour.

Food Science of Animal Resources (Food Sci. Anim. Resour.) is an international, peer-reviewed bimonthly journal publishing original research and reviews on basic and applied aspects of the use of animal resources including the meat, egg, dairy, and edible insect/worm products. Food Sci. Anim. Resour. is published and distributed by the Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.