Click here to submit questions or to provide feedback

Product Description
Sprinkles is tasteless dry powder that is packaged into a single-serve sachet containing multiple micronutrients appropriate for children aged six to 24 months. When added to complementary foods, there is no appreciable change in taste or consistency of food. In the case of white foods, there is a slight colour change, similar to adding pepper to food.

Product Contents
Sprinkles include iron, zinc, vitamins A, C, and folic acid; flexibility allows custom formulation. Sprinkles contain 12.5 mg of iron as encapsulated ferrous fumarate. The encapsulate is a combination of mono and di-glycerides from partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Two Sprinkles formulations have been developed; a nutritional anemia formulation and a multiple micronutrient formulation based on the WHO/RNI model.

Product Packaging
Sprinkles are packaged in a triple layer sachet (poly, paper, and foil), giving the product a shelf life of two years.

Cost
The cost of the product differs based on the micronutrient formulation chosen, the number of sachets ordered, and the site of production, but generally ranges from US$0.015 to US$0.035 per sachet. Programs are responsible for the additional costs of shipping and other related costs such as brokerage fees and import duties.

Product Shipping Information
The product is delivered in boxes of 3000 sachets, packed into a pallet containing 56 boxes and weighing approximately 250 kg with a volume of 1.52 m3. The minimum order is one million sachets, or approximately six pallets or a shipping volume of 9.12m3.

Producer Information
Sprinkles Global Health Initiative in Toronto, Canada produces sprinkles. Dr. Stanley Zlotkin has a patent for the intellectual property rights.

Procurement Information
All first-time orders must be placed through the Sprinkles Global Health Initiative in Toronto Canada. Programs should allow 12 weeks for product shipment after package design has been finalized.

Efficacy Trials
Several studies have shown that Sprinkles are efficacious in providing adequate levels of iron to young children aged six to 24 months when mixed with locally used complementary foods.

•	Treatment of anemia with microencapsulated ferrous fumarate plus ascorbic acid supplied as sprinkles to complementary (weaning) foods. (Am J Clin Nutr 2001;74:791-5)
	–	Sprinkles added to complementary foods are as efficacious as ferrous sulfate drops/syrup at reducing the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia.
	–	Caregivers found that children accepted the Sprinkles and the majority had no trouble with side effects
•	Home fortification with iron and zinc sprinkles or iron sprinkles alone successfully treats anemia in infants and young children. (J Nutr 2003;133:1075-80)
	–	Zinc levels in the Sprinkles mixture do not interfere with iron absorption in anemic Ghanaian infants.
•	Determination of iron absorption fro intrinsically labeled microencapsulated ferrous fumarate (sprinkles) in infants with different iron and hematologic status by using a dual-stable-isotope method. (Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:1436-44)
	–	Sprinkles including 12.5 mg of iron (ferrous fumarate) are as efficacious at preventing iron deficiency anemia as products including 30 and 45 mg of iron.
•	Impact of micronutrient sprinkles for the treatment and prevention of iron deficiency anemia in Canadian first nations and inuit infants 4-18 months old. (FASEB 2003;17A:S1102)
	–	Non-anemic Northern Canadian infants receiving a daily Sprinkles regimen for six-months experienced no adverse effects from the consumption of Sprinkles.
•	Use of microencapsulated iron (II) fumarate sprinkles to prevent recurrence of anemia in infants and young children at high risk. (Bull WHO 2003;81(2):108-15)
	–	Efficacy trials show that providing 60 sachets over a period of at least 60 days and up to six months are effective at controlling iron deficiency anemia in children aged six to 24 months for a full year.

In a study comparing the effects of Sprinkles, Foodlets and Plumpy'Nut, it was found that all three products had a similar significant effect on iron status when compared to the placebo group. However, only Plumpy'Nut and Foodlets had a significant effect on hemoglobin as a measure of anemia.

•

Randomized comparison of 3 types of micronutrient supplements in Ghanaian infants. S Adu-Afarwuah, A Lartey, KH Brown, S Zlotkin, KG Dewey

Production Contact Information
The Specialty Food Shop
The Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario,
M5G 1X8 Canada
Tel: (416) 977-4360
Fax: (416) 977-8394
E-mail:sfs@sickkids.ca
Toll-free line: 1-800-737-7976

 

Iron Deficiency Project Advisory Service International Nutrition Foundation Web site: http://www.micronutrient.org/IDPAS Email: idpas@inffoundation.org Phone (1-617) 636-3770 Fax: (1-617) 636-3781 Project Office: 150 Harrison Street, Boston, MA, 02111 Gerald J. & Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University