WelBodi

Local and Nutrient Dense Sweet Potato Stew

1/20/2019

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Application Description:

WelBodi stew, translated from Creole as “healthy body” stew, is a dehydrated soup that

is packed with Vitamin A and Zinc. This product is intended to be reconstituted with safe boiling

water or boiling sachet water. WelBodi is designed to appeal to all ages and populations, and it

has extra nutritional benefits for children under the age of five. In 2017 the United Nations

Development Programme reported that Sierra Leone had the fourth highest under-five mortality

rate at 15.6% per year [1]. The main cause of these deaths can be attributed to undernutrition, a

weakened immune system, and susceptibility to infections like malaria [2]. Vitamin A and Zinc

deficiency for children under the age of five in Sierra Leone is of primary concern. By

addressing the third and 11th UN goals respectively, Good Health and Well Being, and

Responsible Consumption and Production, WelBodi is a sustainable product designed to be a

convenient solution to fight malnutrition and complications from malaria in Sierra Leone.

Technical Problem Solving (Table 1):

WelBodi is a dried stew that can be reconstituted by adding water. The main processing

steps include cooking ingredients into a paste, and then dehydrating the paste into a shelf stable

powder. The flow chart for processing is shown in Fig. 1.

Product Safety, Shelf Life and Quality Assurance:

Strict adherence to food safety rules must be followed to ensure a safe product. A food

safety plan has been created to eliminate potential hazards that may occur during processing and

packaging of our product (Table 2).

Originality:

WelBodi, inspired by the Sierra Leonean Yebeh, is meant to be served alongside rice for

extra energy benefits. Yebeh is a Sierra Leonean dish often served as a one pot meal shared by
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family and friends and is sometimes used as a weaning food for babies [3]. It is made up of local

ingredients including yam, dried herrings, onions, tomatoes, and palm oil [3]. Although Yebeh

typically uses yam as its base, WelBodi uses sweet potato because when compared to yam it has

approximately 10.8% more beta carotene and 0.13 mg more zinc per a 100g serving [4, 5, 6].

Impact:

Economic

Sierra Leone is on the list of ‘Least Developed Countries’, with a total GDP of $1.9

billion as of 2009. Agriculture accounted for 58% of the GDP in 2007, with almost 67% of the

population directly involved in subsistence agriculture. Since Sierra Leone is a rentier State, it is

unable to distribute the majority of agricultural resources they produce. Sierra Leone depends on

a few commodities for export, forcing them to be a supply-constrained economy [7].

Environment

With agriculture consuming massive amounts of water every year, we chose our

ingredients with UN Goal 11, Responsible Consumption and Production, in mind. Sweet

potatoes and cowpeas are classified as drought tolerant crops, meaning they have minimal

additional water requirements, thus saving the production company money and serving as a more

sustainable commerce item [8]. We also envision working directly with local farmers to salvage

any “imperfect” produce that would otherwise be thrown out, hoping to minimize Sierra Leone’s

impact on global food waste.

Nutrition

In Sierra Leone, there are several reasons for malnutrition including a lack of resources,

food insecurity, and an unsanitary environment [7]. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and

Sanitation says that malaria and pneumonia are the most common causes of morbidity due to

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malnutrition [9]. To address UN Goal 3, Good Health and Well Being, our product contains

adequate amounts of Vitamin A and Zinc to build the immune system of children under five. In

2017 Malaria was reported as being one of the main causes of death in the country, making up

for 20% of all under-five deaths in Sierra Leone [9]. Research in New Guinea demonstrated that

children between 6 months and 5 years had decreased severity and incidence of malaria when

combining effective doses of Vitamin A and Zinc [10]. Our product has the ability to minimize

malarial attacks and in turn hopefully decrease the rate of under five deaths.

Economic Feasibility:

WelBodi is relatively inexpensive to produce. One serving of WelBodi costs about $0.58

to make (Table 3). Drum drying (Fig. 2) this product results in a low moisture content around

6%, which places the shelf life of the product between 1 and 2 years. The long shelf life and the

convenience of WelBodi is especially helpful for working class families that don’t have time to

prepare full meals. Our product offers consistency and access to seasonal crops all year round.

WelBodi has the potential to support the development of Sierra Leonean agriculture in

multiple ways. Currently, about ¾ of land is suitable for cultivation, but less than 15% of that

land is being utilized [11, 12]. As the benefits of this product are discovered, demand for the

product will increase the amount of land Sierra Leone can use for agriculture. Additionally, the

majority of the labor in the agricultural sector is provided by women [11]. With children being

the target population, this product will encourage women to support the development in Sierra

Leonean agriculture. This product could also be sponsored by ministries such as the Inclusive

and Comprehensive Agriculture Development Program whose goal is to create decent

employment, and increased incomes for rural populations [11].

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Table 1: Technical Problem Solving
Challenge Preparation
Solution -Blending of cooked
product ensures
smooth paste for easy
dehydration.
-Slow cooking ensures
retention of nutrients.
Table 2: Food Safety Plan
Processing step/ Types of potential
raw material food safety hazards
Raw material Biological– molds/
reception pathogen
Dehydration Reconstitution Packaging
-Freeze drying is -Hot water must be -Polyester
expensive in West added to avoid fat polypropylene
Africa [15,16]. separation and allow aluminum foil
Drum drying is a quick solubilization of pouch laminate
cost-effective dried flakes. will be used to
process using -Sachet water is avoid light
steam [17,18]. recommended. oxidation of fats.
Preventive control decision Prevention of hazard
Bruised/cut sweet potato occurring Get raw materials from
at harvest and handling GAP, GMP suppliers

Physical-stones, metals Contamination from pre- Wash raw materials, use of

processing equipment metal detectors
Chemical- adulteration Palm oil manufacturers often use Palm oil testing for
of palm oil with food additives for bright red color contamination with Sudan
colors improvement dyes
Sweet potato Biological- molds, Harvests come with soil Visual inspection/ GMP’s
Clostridium sp. contamination
Smoke-dried Biological- Salmonella Improper handling practices cause GMP’s and QA testing
herrings sp., E. coli contamination
Physical- metals Contamination from processing Metal detectors in use
equipment
Cowpeas Biological-Aflatoxins Improper harvest and storage lead Aflatoxin testing
to mold growth and toxins GMP’s and QA testing
Vegetables Biological- Salmonella Improper handling and transport Washing and sanitization/
(Tomatoes, sp., E. coli practices GMP’s and QA testing
onions)
Dried pepper Biological- Salmonella Improper handling practices QA/GMP and sample tests
sp., E. coli
Physical- metals Contamination from processing Use of metal detector
Drum drying Biological Hygienic practices to avoid GMP/Clean and sanitize
contamination before and after processing
Packaging Biological Environment, packaging material GMP’s and QA testing
handling and equipment may cause
cross-contamination
Table 3: Price Breakdown [13,14] Table 4: Nutritional Content [19]
Ingredient Price for Price for Nutrient RDA for Amount in 1 % Daily
1 batch one serving Children (1- Serving intake for
(US$) (US$) 5y) Children
Sweet potato 2.28 0.38 Protein 13-19g/d 18g 112.5%
Cowpeas 0.63 0.11 Carbohydrates 130g/d 91g 70%
Tomato 0.37 0.06 Total fat 30-31g/d 6g 19.6%
Onion 0.14 0.02 Iron 7-10mg/d 9mg 105.88%
Palm oil 0.001 0.00417 Vitamin A 300-400mcg/d 1,998mcg 570.86%
Shrimp boullion 0.05 0.008 Zinc 3-5mg/d 4mg 100%
Ginger powder 0.02 0.003 Calories 1000- 470cal 36.15%
Chili powder 0.007 0.001 1600cal/d
Total 3.50 0.58

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Appendix:

Figure 1: Processing Flow Chart

Figure 2: Schematic diagram of a single and double drum dryer (Adapted from Barbosa-Cânovas & Vega-Mercado,

1996).