CHICKEN LIVER ESFIHA FOR CHILD NUTRITION: NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION AND ADEQUACY RELATIVE TO THE DIETARY REFERENCE INTAKES

Aimed at children aged 4 to 8 years, this work addresses anemia, which remains a relevant public health problem among Brazilian children, with a pooled prevalence of 33% under 7 years (NOGUEIRA-DE- ALMEIDA et al., 2021); iron deficiency, its leading cause, impairs cognition, school performance, and behavior. The low acceptance of iron-rich foods hinders adequate intake in this age group, so the nutritional benefit is only realized if the product is accepted by children. This work aimed to develop chicken liver esfiha, a familiar, easy- to-eat baked product, with a thin, crisp doug, that can contribute to children's recommended daily iron intake, within the course "Experimental Study of Foods" of the Nutrition program at PUC-Campinas. A traditional beef esfiha recipe (a savory pastry of Middle Eastern origin, widely consumed in Brazil) was adapted by replacing the beef with chicken liver, ground in a food processor to obtain a uniform texture and sautéed with onion, garlic, tomato sauce, lemon juice, and spices, wrapped in thin, crisp dough made with iron-fortified wheat flour. Sensory criteria were a filling without residual iron (metallic) aftertaste, well seasoned yet mild enough to avoid rejection by children. The recipe yields40 esfihas of about 70 g (40 g of dough, 30 g of filling), baked at 180 °C for about 40 minutes. Nutritional composition was estimated using WebDiet software, based on the Tucunduva (PHILIPPI, 2018) and TACO (NEPA, 2011) tables, by dividing the total by the units, and compared with the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) and the criteria for content claims in RDC No. 429/2020 and Normative Instruction No. 75/2020 (ANVISA), without laboratory analyses; ingredients were classified by degree of processing according to the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (BRASIL, 2014). Each unit provided about 157 kcal, 21 g of carbohydrates, 12 g of protein, 2.9 g of fat, and 6.3 mg of iron, equivalent to 63% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for children aged 4 to 8 years (10 mg/day). The results are compatible with the claims "high iron content," "high protein content," and "no added sugars," with predominantly minimally processed ingredients. Using liver, a low-cost by-product, reduces costs and food waste, in line with ESG principles. As a limitation, each unit provided about 1,960 µg of retinol equivalents (RE; estimated by software approximating RAE), above the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of 900 µg/day for this age group; since the UL refers to prolonged daily intake, one unit per serving is recommended, not for daily consumption.
In conclusion, chicken liver esfiha is a nutritionally promising alternative for increasing iron intake in children's diet, provided that consumption frequency is controlled and acceptance by children is confirmed through sensory tests.