3.1. Bread formulation
The main recommendation to feed people at high nutritional risk is to provide them with 3–4 kg of food per week, being important that the energy supply suffice, though the diet were not well balanced. The delivered foods should be usual according to the population alimentary pattern in order to avoid rejections and intolerances. The food ration should be as simple as possible: a basic ingredient such as rice, maize or wheat; a concentrated energy source such as oil or other lipid; and a concentrated protein source such as canned or dehydrated fish. Cooking difficulties should be taken into account, so ready-to-eat meals are preferred. In addition to the basic ration, vulnerable groups such as children under five years old, pregnant and lactating women, and malnourished persons should receive alimentary supplements (PAHO, 2004).
Each one of the eighteen designed HNB formulations were tasted by a small panel until achieving a suitable one. The ingredients composing the chosen bread formulation can be seen in Table 1. To keep good humidity and texture for long storage times, some additives were also incorporated: glyceryl monostearate and sodium stearoyl lactylate (sodium 2- (2-octadecanoyloxypropanoyloxy) propanoate) as emulsifiers to improve gas retention and dough tolerance to processing, and an enzymatic mixture containing amylases, to fasten and improve leavening (Igoe and Hui, 1996 and Multon, 1998).