Insufficient levels of essential micronutrients negatively impact the well-being of females in their childbearing years, affect fetal development during gestation, and influence the physical and cognitive progress of children in nations across sub-Saharan Africa. This research sought to assess nutrient consumption patterns in females who are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding, living in seven administrative areas within Tanzania's Mbeya area, through the application of a single-day food recall method. The investigation involved a survey across different locations with 500 such females. Selection occurred in two phases: three community units per area were picked based on population size proportionality, followed by random choice of 24 qualifying residences from each selected unit. Statistical software macros in SAS (release 9.4) processed consumption amounts and determined typical consumption levels for three commonly enriched food items. Average daily consumption stood at 36.47 grams for cooking oil, 110.53 grams for wheat-based flour, and 2,169.9 kilocalories overall. Protein consumption averaged 63.5 grams, exceeding the advised 56.0 grams. For trace elements, zinc showed the greatest rate of insufficient consumption (91.2%), then iron (82.2%), and vitamin B12 (80.0%). The largest shortfall relative to needs was for vitamin E (50.7%), whereas the lowest quartile shortfall was minimal (9.8%). Moderate rates of insufficient consumption appeared for vitamin C (46.5%) and riboflavin (54.8%), with a 42% shortfall in the lowest quartile. Levels of insufficient consumption for vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, and folate were in the moderate range (32.6% to 44.4%), accompanied by lowest-quartile shortfalls of 16.2% to 34%. Results indicate widespread shortfalls in trace nutrient consumption among these females. Moreover, enriching cooking oil emerges as a viable strategy, though enriched wheat flour demonstrated poor penetration in this Tanzanian area.
