Kerala advises parents not to add sugar or jaggery to Amrutham Nutrimix

KERALA'S Women and Child Development (WCD) Department has advised parents not to add extra sugar or jaggery to Amrutham Nutrimix, a supplementary food provided to young children through anganwadis, saying the product already contains adequate sugar.

The advisory has been issued to ensure healthy feeding practices for children aged six months to three years who receive the take-home ration under the state’s nutrition programme, The Hindu reported.

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Amrutham Nutrimix is manufactured by Kudumbashree units using a formulation developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research–Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CPCRI), Kasaragod. The mix contains 45% wheat, 20% sugar, 15% Bengal gram, 10% soybean and 10% peanuts, and is designed to meet children’s daily calorie and protein requirements.

The WCD Department has directed anganwadi workers to inform parents through meetings, Poshan Tracker and WhatsApp groups not to add additional sugar or jaggery while preparing dishes such as kurukku, puttu, kozhukatta and ada using the Nutrimix.

According to the department, adding extra sugar may increase the risk of obesity, dental problems and other health issues. It also warned that excessive consumption of sweet foods by children between six months and one year of age could reduce their appetite for other nutritious foods.

Meanwhile, the state government is considering changes to the Nutrimix formulation, including replacing refined sugar with jaggery, following discussions with ICAR-CPCRI to make the product healthier and more suitable for young children.

The move follows an advisory issued by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, which recommended that supplementary nutrition provided to children should avoid the use of salt, processed white sugar and artificial colours.