Objective: Malnutrition among children under the age of five continues to prevail in the Philippines, paving the way for the development of complementary food blends as part of the government's initiative to address the issue. This study aimed to develop a ready-to-eat (RTE) snack utilizing pigmented maize (APN 408), which has higher polyphenol content compared to its common yellow maize counterparts.

Methods: Snack crackers were prepared from 30% mungbean flour (control) and varying cornstarch-pigmented maize formulations. Five formulations were produced using the process performed in keropok production, followed by drying, and then deep frying.

Results: Sensory evaluation revealed that the addition of 7.5% pigmented maize to the cornstarch and mungbean were preferred by most panelists. This formulation was subjected to proximate and physicochemical analyses. The results showed that increasing the protein content leads to a less expanded extrudate with higher bulk density and a more compact texture, affecting its crispiness and hardness which are the two attributes important for crackers. In terms of proximate composition, snack crackers with added pigmented maize have significantly higher crude protein and carbohydrate contents compared to those prepared using mungbean and cornstarch only. Overall, the snack cracker produced is a better alternative to the existing complementary blends, which only utilize rice and mungbean in their formulations.

Conclusion:This study maximizes the utilization of Philippine pigmented maize to develop novel and healthy ready-to-eat snacks using the keropok production process. The extruded snack produced is a superior alternative to the existing commercial complementary blends, which only utilize rice and mungbean in their formulation. This developed product has the potential to address nutritional gaps and enhance resilience among Filipino children.