The CoMIT project was the first trial to test the impact of multiple micronutrient-fortified bouillon on micronutrient status.
The objectives of this study were to assess the impacts of household use of multiple micronutrient-fortified bouillon cubes (fortified with vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and iodine), compared to control bouillon cubes (fortified with iodine), on:
- Micronutrient status and hemoglobin concentrations among nonpregnant women 15-49 years and children 2-5 years of age after 9 months
- Human milk micronutrient concentrations and prevalence of low micronutrient concentrations among lactating women 4-18 months postpartum after 3 months
Further detail on the study design and methods are available in the protocol paper and on Open Science Framework.
The study was registered at:
- ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05178407)
- Pan-African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR202206868437931)
The trial was conducted by University of Ghana and University of California, Davis, with collaborators at Newcastle University and Penn State University.
Preparations for the trial included substantial formative research:
- A pilot survey confirmed that multiple micronutrient deficiencies were common in the area and that bouillon consumption was frequent (Adu-Afarwuah et al., 2025).
- A retinol isotope dilution kinetic study was conducted among nonpregnant, nonlactating women to determine population-specific model coefficients to enable estimation of individual total body vitamin A stores in trial participants (Green et al. 2024).
