TITLE:
Consumption, Use and Awareness of Wheat Flour Fortification in Abidjan
AUTHORS:
Assielou Hyppolite Assielou, Lathro Anselme Akpro, Bosson Jean-Aimé Assanvo, Jean Brice Gbakayoro, Grodji Albarin Gbogouri
KEYWORDS:
Consumption, Enrichment Levels, Wheat Flour, Abidjan
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: Malnutrition, particularly iron-deficiency anaemia, remains a major public health problem in Côte d’Ivoire, affecting mainly women and children. In order to reduce this burden, the fortification of wheat flour with essential micronutrients has been adopted as a nutritional strategy. However, the effectiveness of this intervention depends on the level of consumption of wheat-based products, as well as on the awareness of the general public and bakery stakeholders regarding flour fortification. This study therefore aimed to assess the consumption of wheat flour-based products, the use of this flour by bakeries, and the level of awareness of fortified wheat flour in four municipalities of Abidjan. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted between June 2023 and September 2025 among 400 households and 120 bakery employees, who were consumers and users of wheat flour respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The results showed that awareness of wheat flour (87.17%) and wheat-based products (92.25%) was high among households, particularly among the most educated individuals. Bread remained the most widely consumed wheat-based product. However, awareness of flour fortification remained low (41.5%) and was significantly associated with educational attainment. Among bakery staff, who were predominantly men with secondary education, wheat flour was used universally, mainly through the GMA and Malika brands. Nevertheless, only 45% were aware of flour fortification and 31.7% knew that the flour used was fortified. All the bakeries surveyed stated that they did not carry out any checks or tests to verify the fortification of the flours used. This study highlights high consumption of wheat-based products in Abidjan, but low awareness of flour fortification among both households and bakers. Strengthening information and awareness-raising initiatives appears necessary to improve the effectiveness of food fortification programmes.