Locally produced probiotic yogurt for better nutrition and health in Uganda
By Prof. Seppo Salminen, Director of Functional Foods Forum, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Can locally produced probiotic yogurt be a way to increase the health and wealth of people in resource-poor areas of Uganda? Recently Dr. Nieke Westerik, a researcher from the Netherlands, partnered with a local Ugandan team to explore a yogurt production and distribution program similar to one that had previously proved successful in low-income areas of Argentina.
Since 2008, “Yogurito Social Program” has been operating in Argentina and now some 350,000 schoolchildren in less developed provinces enjoy the benefits of daily probiotic yogurt developed locally. Dr. Westerik (Free University of Amsterdam and Yoba 4 Life Foundation), with support from former ISAPP board member Prof. Gregor Reid, has now helped adapt the program to local needs in Uganda, making use of a well-known probiotic (Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG) plus a yogurt starter (produced by the Yoba 4 Life Foundation) for production of the yogurt. The probiotic’s health effects have been demonstrated in human intervention studies.
The team worked on technical training and quality control of the locally produced yogurt, developing a production protocol suitable for Ugandan small-scale manufacture of probiotic fermented foods. Dr. Westerik’s team then conducted two clinical studies that demonstrated that the consumption of this probiotic product improved natural defenses and prevented respiratory infections (e.g. the common cold) and intestinal infections, which are the infectious conditions of greatest relevance in childhood in Uganda.
Yogurt is a new tool for individuals in developing areas of Uganda to achieve better health through diet, with potentially significant social and economic implications. Both the Ugandan and Argentinian experiences illustrate the power of microbes to positively impact the lives of women, men, and children. Given the positive results from these two different contexts, such activities could be replicated in other geographical areas—with either dairy, vegetable, or grain fermentations used locally with defined, well-studied starter cultures.
Further reading:
Julio Villena, Susana Salva, Martha Núñez, Josefina Corzo, René Tolaba, Julio Faedda, Graciela Font and Susana Alvarez. Probiotics for Everyone! The Novel Immunobiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 and the Beginning of Social Probiotic Programs in Argentina. International Journal of Biotechnology for Wellness Industries, 2012, 1, 189-198.
Westerik N. 2020. Locally produce probiotic yoghurt for better nutrition and increased incomes in Uganda. PhD thesis, Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Reid G, Kort R, Alvarez S, Bourdet- Sicard R, Benoit V, Cunningham M, Saulnier DM, van Hylckama Vlieg JET, Verstraelen H, Sybesma W. Expanding the reach of probiotics through social enterprises. Beneficial Microbes, 9 (5): 707-715.
YOGURITO –the Argentinian social program with a special yogurt
