This article presents findings from three separate data sets on food consumption in apparently healthy Malaysian adult males and females aged 22-60 years, and secondary data extracted from the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS) 2003. Assessment of food intake by 24-hour recall or the food diary method and use of the nutrient calculator- DietPLUS- to quantify intake of macronutrients and dietary fibre (DF) in the primary data, revealed low mean DF intakes of 10.7±1.0 g/day (Course participants, n=52), 15.6 ±1.2 (University sample, n=103), and 16.1 ±6.1 (Research Institute staff, n=25). An alarmingly high proportion of subjects (75 to 95%) in these three data sets did not meet the national population intake goal of 20-30 g DF/day. A list of 39 food items which contain fibre, extracted from the MANS 2003 report as being average amounts consumed daily by each Malaysian adult, provided 19.2 g DF which meant that >50% of Malaysian adults consumed less than the recommended DF intake of 20-30 g/day. This large deficit of actual intake versus recommended intakes is not new and is also observed in developed western nations. What is of great concern is that the preliminary findings presented in this article indicate that the national population goal of 20-30 g DF/day may be beyond the habitual diets of the majority of Malaysians. Appropriately, the authors propose the inclusion of a daily minimum requirement for DF intake in the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines, which would somewhat mimic the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 1999 for dietary fat, as well as the stand taken by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) of the United Kingdom. This minimum requirement, if agreed to, should not be higher than the 16 g DF or so provided by the hypothetical ‘high-fibre’ healthy diet exemplified in this article.

Introduction: Carotenoid-rich red palm oil (RPO)-based snacks have been provided to children in impoverished communities to improve their vitamin A status. The non-availabilty of information on the acceptability of RPO-based snacks by Malaysian aborigines (Orang Asli) children forms the basis of this study. Methods: Twenty-one Orang Asli children, majority of whom had normal body mass index for age (BMI-for-age) and aged 4.73 ± 0.92 years in Sungai Tekir, Negeri Sembilan were provided with three freshly-prepared snacks (springroll, curry puff or doughnut) each containing one teaspoon or 5 ml of RPO per serving, on separate mornings. On the fourth morning, one serving each of all 3 different snacks was provided together on a plate to every child for consumption and preference for the snacks recorded. The children’s habitual vitamin A intakes were assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and carotenoid retention tests for the prepared snacks were performed by column chromatography. Results: Fifty-four percent of the children did not meet their RNI for vitamin A. Based on acceptance criterion of consuming at least one-half serving of the snacks provided, springroll and curry puff recorded 100% acceptability while doughnut had 82% acceptability. Preference of snack was in the order, springroll (47%)> doughtnut (35%)> curry puff (18%), but a Ztest test for proportions showed no statistical significance. Carotenoid retention tests showed great variation between snacks namely, doughnut (100%) >springroll (84%)>curry puff (45%). Conclusion: The overall findings indicate that the RPO-based snacks are highly acceptable and can be used to improve the dietary intake of provitamin A carotenoids of Malaysian Orang Asli children.