The irony of industry fortification- Aligning industry-led fortified dairy-based food products with population nutritional needs in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria

This thesis aimed to understand the diet and nutritional needs of populations in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, reformulate and fortify food products, and evaluate their effectiveness on nutritional and health outcomes in a real-world setting through a school feeding programme. These aims were addressed through three research themes: (1) understanding population nutritional needs, by identifying nutrient inadequacies and dietary patterns among school-aged children and women of reproductive age in Côte d’Ivoire; (2) Tailoring product (re)formulation via food fortification and assessing its technological and sensory feasibility; and (3) evaluating the effectiveness of a multi-nutrient fortified food product delivered through a school feeding programme in Nigeria. Together, these studies operationalised a practical framework, using the research themes as programme pillars to align public-health nutrition goals with food-industry innovation. The integration of these pillars provides a model for how industry-led nutrition interventions can support national public health priorities within evolving food systems.