The Foodlet Vehicle Designed for and Used in the Iris I Intervention

Abstract

At the behest of UNICEF, conceptual specifications from the International Workshop on Micronutrient Supplementation throughout the Life Cycle (held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November 1999) were developed for a chewable, flavored multiple-micronutrient vehicle that was a hybrid of a food and a tablet (i.e., “foodLET”). Two varieties of foodLET were created: one with a single infant–toddler RDA for selected micronutrients, and the other with two RDAs for the same vitamins and minerals. They were shipped and stored in special, hermetic blister packs to protect the physical form from crumbling and to protect the vitamins from oxidative damage. In the actual experience of delivering more than 40,000 foodLETs in four sites in diverse settings, the ability of the product to live up to the ideal characteristics can be assessed.