From research
to development
Plumpy’Nut: a revolution in the
battle against malnutrition
A new ready-to-use peanut-based paste accepted by children and known
as Plumpy’Nut is revolutionizing the battle against malnutrition. This highlynutritious food source was invented by an IRD researcher and developed with
Nutriset. The product is now widely used in the humanitarian sector. In 2015,
nearly 1.5 million malnourished children were fed and treated using Plumpy’Nut.
In the 70s and 80s, famines raged across Asia and
Africa in countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia and
Sudan. Food aid, based on agricultural surplus from
developed countries, did not suffice. Victims of undernutrition – mainly children – were fed using powdered milk diluted in water, exposing them to the risks
of contamination under poor hygiene conditions.
The search for alternatives
Dr André Briend, an IRD researcher, started to look
Plumpy’Nut consumption in Niger (IRD/T. Amadou)
for alternative solutions. He tested nutritional products in solid form, such as pancakes, biscuits and
doughnuts, produced in partnership with Nutriset1.
A success in the humanitarian sector
None of these products met the requirements for
In 1997, Action Against Hunger, in collaboration
conservation, logistics or taste, until the idea emer-
with Chad’s Health Ministry, was the first to trial
ged for a ready-to-use peanut-based paste available
this product in the field. An article published in The
in sachets. Plumpy’Nut was thus developed with
Lancet2 and clinical trials in Senegal, Ethiopia and
Nutriset in 1996, and became the first Ready-to-Use
Malawi confirmed the product’s effectiveness. The
Therapeutic Food (RUTF). The paste is enriched
next year, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) used it
with vitamins and minerals, and provides 540 kcal for
on a large scale during a famine in southern Sudan.
100 g. It has since revolutionised the battle against
Five years later, Niger was affected by its own food
severe malnutrition across the world.
crisis. There, MSF treated 60,000 children in their
homes using Plumpy’Nut. This success received a
great deal of media coverage, after which the majority of the non-government sector, UN agencies and
local healthcare stakeholders gave the product their
backing. In May 2007, WHO and the United Nations
recommended ready-to-use therapeutic foods, inspired by the Plumpy’Nut model.
Increasing nutritional autonomy
in affected countries
In 2010, IRD and Nutriset granted online access to
their patent (registered in 1997), in order for local companies in developing countries to produce ready-to-use
foods like Plumpy’Nut. This agreement lets them mar-
Plumpy’Nut consumption in Vietnam (IRD/M. Nguyen)
ket their own products to humanitarian organisations.
Meanwhile, since 2005, Nutriset has been developing
a network of franchised producers, mainly in Africa and
In just 20 years, Plumpy’Nut has revolutionised the
Asia, to place operations closer to Plumpy’Nut users.
battle against malnutrition across the world, and es-
Today, the network’s total production capacity comes
pecially in developing countries. In 2015, Plumpy’Nut
to nearly 110,000 tons of product, shipped to 97 desti-
was used to treat 1.42 million children suffering from
nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
malnutrition.
1. www.nutriset.fr
2. Andre Briend et al. Ready-to-use therapeutic food for treatment of
Plumpy’Nut manufacturing in Niger (IRD/T. Amadou)
International Affairs Service
Benoît Martimort-Asso : +33 (0)4 91 99 93 31
Contacts
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© IRD/DCPI, mars 2016 - Conception et réalisation graphique : L. CORSINI
marasmus. The Lancet, 1999, 353 (9166), p. 1767-1768