LAUSR

To compare the acceptability of a locally produced ready-to-use therapeutic food (L-RUTF) with the standard ready-to-use therapeutic food (S-RUTF). It was a single-center, randomized, double-blind, two-way crossover study. The participants were 6–59-mo-old children residing in an urban slum, with weight-for-height z score (WHZ) < −2SD. The study had two intervention periods of feeding with two types of RUTF— L-RUTF and S-RUTF—for a period of 24 h, separated by a wash-out period of 7 d. The outcome measures were the acceptability measured as consumption of more than two-thirds of the total calories offered (150 kcal/kg/24 h) and the degree of liking of the food measured by organoleptic evaluation. Both types of RUTF did not qualify as acceptable. L-RUTF was preferred over S-RUTF in organoleptic evaluation. The study suggests that RUTF products are not suitable for use as a single therapeutic food during nutrition rehabilitation of children with acute malnutrition. The study was registered in the clinical registry of India; Reg. No: CTRI/2018/04/012967.