Can adults eat the children's nutrition improvement project?

Let me start with the conclusion. There will be no safety issues if adults eat the special foods of the Children's Nutrition Improvement Project, but there is absolutely no need to eat them specially, and it is not recommended to occupy the exclusive quota for children.

When I was doing household follow-up in a project county in Yunnan two years ago, I encountered many cases where the elderly were reluctant to give food to their grandchildren, or the children didn’t like the leftover food and would come and drink it themselves. At that time, many village cadres also asked me whether there would be any problems with eating. In fact, there is no need to worry at all - the most distributed food in the project now is The ingredients of the infant nutrition pack are basically full-fat milk powder, soybean powder and other food bases. The additional iron, zinc, and vitamins A/D are also regular nutrients. There are no special ingredients that can only be consumed by children. At most, adults can only supplement some micronutrients without any adverse reactions.

However, I have to mention two points of debate here. Many people think that anyone can eat it as long as it is not broken, while others think that if adults touch it, it is a waste of public resources. In fact, it depends on the situation. If the child is really tired of drinking, or if he opens it and leaves it unfinished, it is better than throwing it away. In this case, there is no problem eating it. ； But if it is clear that the child still needs nutritional supplements, but the adults deliberately keep the nutritional packets for themselves, it is really unreasonable. After all, this project was originally designed by the state to address the high incidence of iron deficiency and growth retardation in infants and young children in underdeveloped areas. The nutrient ratio in each package is tailored to the needs of babies aged 6-24 months. This amount may not be as much as what you would get by eating an extra bite of spinach or drinking half a cup of milk for an adult. It simply takes up resources for children and has no actual effect.

And to be honest, most adults have tasted it and found it unpalatable. After all, in order to prevent children from developing a sweet habit, neither sucrose nor flavoring is added to the nutritional package. It tastes just like soymilk, which is far less fragrant than the milk powder you buy. If you really want to supplement your nutrition, you can eat more meat, eggs, milk, or buy a bottle of adult multivitamins. It is worse than anything else. You can't compete with children for this ration.