Fighting malnutrition in Africa: UC Davis and BII use AI and food-omics to advance precision nutrition

In the recently launched Amplified African Food (AAF) project, scientists will address malnutrition and stunting in Africa with precision nutrition and by improving protein digestibility in foods rooted in culture. The project partners, US University of California (UC) Davis and Novo Nordisk Foundation’s BioInnovation Institute (BII), aim to launch a company in Africa to market these products. 

Nutrition Insight discusses the project’s goals, implementation, and potential impact with experts from UC Davis’ Innovation Institute for Food and Health (IIFH) and BII. 

Jan Dideriksen, BII entrepreneur-in-residence, says the time is now to ensure a strong focus on healthy foods in Africa. “We have an opportunity to strengthen the early initiatives on nutritional interventions in Africa, both via a thriving entrepreneurial scene in East Africa, among other areas, and utilizing the heightened interest in optimized nourishment that prevails in the region.”

He says the project hopes to have several products and services on the market in 3–5 years. “This will allow for value generation through our AI platform and value generated through revenue streams of our initial product on the market throughout the East African region.”

Dr. Justin Siegel, principal investigator at UC Davis and IIFH faculty director, adds that the AAF launch addresses a “critical moment in the relationship between food and health,” as communities globally face significant nutritional challenges deeply affecting physical and mental health. 

“The IIFH and the BII will collaborate closely with experts at UC Davis and BII that have successfully worked with local communities to launch nutritional interventions that have profoundly impacted health and well-being. AAF will build on these experiences to ensure local ecosystems, traditions, and values are central to our approach.” 

Siegel says that AAF aims to tailor nutrient-rich interventions around the unique nutritional needs and cultural contexts of communities in Africa.“Food is inherently tied to our humanity — it is central to connection, joy, comfort, celebration, health, and well-being,” he emphasizes. “Our mission is to make the food we love healthier for everyone and the planet, enabling everyone to enjoy long, healthy, and happy lives.” 

Filling nutrition gaps

Dana Armstrong Hughes, IIFH program coordinator, notes that humanity can produce calories “plentifully” due to the green revolution, plant breeding, and related technologies. 

“However, nutrient density and quality remain lacking in many parts of the world, and we are learning that individuals digest these nutrients differently and in many cases not very optimally.” 

Siegal says that AAF aims to fill these crucial gaps by tailoring nutrient-rich interventions specifically designed around the unique nutritional needs and cultural contexts of communities in Africa.

“By starting with those most in need, we generate insights that can ultimately inform and guide similar efforts in diverse communities worldwide,” he adds. 

Armstrong Hughes highlights that existing technologies can harness the variability in human digestion and improve the uptake of nutrients, including protein. “It stands to reason that those that can benefit most reside where nutrients are scarce, allowing our technologies to make a greater impact.” 

Advancing protein digestibility

One of AAF’s aims is to improve protein digestibility based on scientific advances in enzymes conducted by Siegel and his team at UC Davis. 

“You are what you digest, not what you eat,” comments Dideriksen. “The better your capability to digest proteins, the more amino acid and peptide nourishment you can obtain. Allowing for better digestion allows individuals to eat traditional meals, with improved nourishment profiles, possibly avoiding major changes to their diet, while increasing the nutritional value.”

AAF hopes to have several products and services on the market in 3–5 years, says Dideriksen.Armstrong Hughes highlights that protein is incredibly scarce in many parts of rural Africa, especially animal protein. 

“Legumes usually play a larger role in protein consumption, often with sources of low quality or incomplete. When your protein access is low, your digestibility of the existing protein becomes much more critical.” 

Leveraging AI and food-omics

To amplify protein bioavailability and accessibility, AAF will leverage food-omics and AI to develop clinically validated, shelf-stable products. Food-omics tools will enable the researchers to compile an in-depth, molecularly defined database of local ingredients and meals to provide a “map of nutrition,” says Dideriksen. 

“It will allow us to assess combinations of raw materials that will provide essential amino acids, thus providing a guide for personalized nutrition through molecular understanding and AI modeling of food profiles.”

Siegel adds that data from these food-omics tools will help create robust datasets to leverage with AI. He says the team plans to “create a new gold standard in data sets, specifically designed to generate insights and outcomes to generate products that maximize protein nutritional quality from local ingredients.” 

“Layering these AI-driven insights with advanced biotechnology tools can transform the nutritional landscape, creating a new gold standard in excellence for desirable, accessible, and healthy food products.” 

The project partners will launch a company to deliver precision nutrition across Africa and develop a pipeline to help fuel it. The experts underscore the importance of balancing scientific innovation with real-world preferences and needs of the communities they aim to serve with this company and its products. 

Dideriksen explains that the project partners will assess people’s habits, food preferences, and demands to create the right product and continually expand the nutrition platform. 

Use-inspired innovations

One of the concepts at IIFH and UC Davis to advance innovation is use-inspired research, which expands knowledge with the end user’s needs in mind. Armstrong Hughes says this concept is “at the heart of applied science.” 

Armstrong Hughes underscores the importance of use-inspired research in applied science — driving innovation based on end users’ needs.“Starting with the problem to solve, or in this case, the needs of the communities, will allow us to understand the sociocultural environment and food preferences better. From here, we can access the raw food-omics data with a problem-solving mindset, designing novel and culturally appropriate solutions from the data on hand.” 

She adds: “By starting with the nutritional and cultural needs in mind and using that to inform our research, we can know that the scientific innovations will be meeting real needs in a practical way.”

AAF is one of three projects in BII’s current BioStudio program cohort. Dideriksen explains that this program allows the team to implement the project in a controlled and dedicated manner. 

“It ensures that the right resources and governance are in place to run the project so that a company creation can occur over the coming 2–3 years. A company that, thanks to UC Davis and the Bio Studio program, will be based on a solid foundation of science, an urgent need, and a strong team to execute the plan.”

BII’s Anne Steinø, director of the Bio Studio program, says it “provides a framework for innovation supported by expertise and strong networks to accelerate company creation.”

She adds: “Moreover, the AAF team is supported by dedicated BII resources whose deep experience across the African continent brings critical insight into the challenges and opportunities of operating in Global South markets.”