ABSTRACT
Protein deficiency, particularly in the diets of young children and other vulnerable groups, is one of the major nutritional problems facing the developing countries. The nature and magnitude of the “protein gap” has been discussed by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and other United Nations (UN) Agencies. 1 The most promising additional protein sources remain to be used for human consumption are the edible oilseeds, nuts, and their meals. 2 , 3 Nuts and oilseeds provide about 5 to 15 g of additional proteins per capita in many developing countries, where milk production and consumption are low (less than 150 g/capita/day) and milk provides less than 5 g protein per day per head. 4 A considerable amount of work has been carried out during recent years on the utilization of edible nuts and oilseeds and their meals in the preparation of supplementary foods for infants and children. 5 , 6 This chapter gives a summary of the available data on the chemical composition and nutritive value and the proteins of nuts and oilseeds and results of studies on the processed supplementary foods based on them.
