Iron absorption from three typical West African meals was measured in fourteen subjects using the extrinsic-tag technique with 59Fe and 55Fe. All meals consisted of maize as the staple food. Meals were prepared in Benin under realistic conditions from locally grown foods. Of the non-haem-Fe in the meals 39–73% did not exchange with the added inorganic radio-Fe tracer, depending on the degree of Fe contamination of meals. Non-haem-Fe absorption was low in each maize meal, but was even lower for those eaten with a vegetable sauce than for those eaten with a fish sauce. When haem-Fe absorption was included, 70.0–160μg Fe was absorbed. Expressed on an energy basis, the bioavailable nutrient density was 3.2–7.0 μ/100 kJ (13.4–29.5 μ/100 kcal). These findings suggest that total Fe available in the typical diets of West African countries does not meet the physiological requirements of large proportions of the population.
