New Consultancy: Ready to use Therapeutic food (RUTF)- Ingredient sampling and testing guidelines Consultant, 45 days within 2 months. Medicines & Nutrition Centre, UNICEF Copenhagen

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Love…

Globally, at least 13.6 million children under the age of 5 suffer from severe wasting . WHO recommends that all children aged 6 months to 59 months with severe wasting and/or nutritional edema, also referred to as severe acute malnutrition (SAM), without medical complications are treated with ready to use therapeutic foods (RUTF) . RUTF is a fortified high energy food and is one of the critical life changing innovation products, that has increased the efficiency and effectiveness of therapeutic care of children with severe wasting. Over the last four years, UNICEF provided life-saving therapeutic feeding to 3.5 million children with SAM and procured an average of 49 000 metric tons (MT) of RUTF . The 45th session of Codex Alimentarius held on 21 November 2022 adopted the Codex guidelines for RUTF and has pave the way for new innovative versions of the therapeutic products . RUTF Codex guidelines will enable governments and local producers to scale up RUTF production and manage safe RUTF production to tackle the severe wasting among millions of children across globe.

RUTF is a low moisture food and is produced in production plants which are either specially designed and built to produce RUTF or as a part of plant where other low moisture foods are produced. Conventionally, ingredients of RUTF are peanuts, sugar, milk powder (providing 50% of total protein), vegetable oil (palm oil, canola oil), vitamin and mineral premix and additives. Alternative ingredients e.g., cereals, legumes, animal source protein excluding e.g., milk protein, peanuts, replacing milk and including additional amino acids will be gradually adopted for treatment of severe wasting. The ingredients used in RUTF production pose different level of physical, chemical, and microbiological risk. To minimize the risk to its lowest level, an effective sampling and testing of raw material is a key step in safe RUTF manufacturing. A RUTF supplier should use the raw ingredients that comply with relevant CODEX standards. Complying with all relevant Codex standards and guidelines per specific RUTF ingredients and developing a guidance document for appropriate sampling and testing is the focus of this consultancy.

Purpose
Manufacturers of RUTF often encounter challenges with physical, chemical, and microbial risk from RUTF ingredients. Ingredients used in RUTF production are either pre-processed (ready to use) or processed during manufacturing. The sampling and testing parameters of ingredients need to be stringent so as not be a vector of any risk in RUTF manufacturing. A guiding document on sampling and testing of RUTF would strengthen manufacturers capacity to reduce this important risk.
The main purpose of this consultancy is to develop a guidelines document on sampling and testing of RUTF ingredients based on available Codex and international guidelines. The developed guideline shall include the testing of physical, chemical, and microbial parameters with corresponding sampling plan and methods.

Scope
1. Provide a review of raw materials used in RUTF production based on inputs from UNICEF, scientific journals, reviews, and Codex guidelines. The consultant must provide a brief overview of the risk of specific raw materials utilizing the alternative ingredients risk assessment report (UNICEF) and related risk assessment reports. The consultant shall also utilize Microbial risk in low- moisture foods, FAO and WHO report on microbial safety of RUTF and related papers.

2. Develop guidance for sampling plan of RUTF ingredients based on existing 1. guidelines on sampling, 2. Recommended methods of analysis and sampling (CXS 243-1999) 3. ISO 28596:2022(en), Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes — Two-stage sampling plans for auditing and for inspection under prior information 4. Sampling for microbiological analysis 5. Microbiological sampling-Statistical aspects. The consultant shall define the sampling plan based on level of risk identified, level of processing of ingredients based on the current practices of the industry, physical, chemical, and microbial parameters being analyzed.

3. Combining information from 1 and 2, develop a guideline to monitor physical, chemical, and microbial quality of each of identified raw materials. The consultant is required to provide the reference for general standards for such quality parameters utilizing Codex standards for cereals, pulses, legumes, and vegetable proteins, Contaminants CODEXALIMENTARIUS FAO-WHO, Standards for named vegetable oils, Codex General Standard for Fats and Oils , Standards for Sugars, Standards for food additives, Principles and guidelines for the microbial criteria to foods, Evaluation of certain food additives and contaminants, Microorganisms in Foods 6: Microbial Ecology of Food Commodities and other related codex standards and guidelines. Further, the consultant shall review the existing practices within the supplier base of raw material management, find gaps, and suggest areas for improvement.

4. Develop a brief guidance for validation of raw materials and raw materials suppliers, based on the above developed guidelines. The consultant shall give a brief review on selection testing laboratories, test method and monitoring those laboratories though proficiency testing and validation program.

Output

Report format: technical report format.
Presentation slide deck covering main findings to accompany the report.
No of pages: <100 A4, Ariel font size 11, Line space 1.15 

UNICEF do have the rights to publish the guidance document in UNICEF SD home page.

How can you make a difference? 

Key Deliverables – RUTF ingredients sampling and testing guidelines	Duration (Estimated # of days)	Estimated due date
Overview of raw materials, define and report risk (physical, chemical, microbial) from raw materials	3 working days	TBC
Guidance on sampling plan for physical, chemical, and microbial testing of raw materials	10 working days	TBC
Guidance on general quality and safety standards and corresponding testing methods	12 working days	TBC
Guidance on raw materials and suppliers’ validation	5 working days	TBC
UNICEF review	15 days	TBC
PowerPoint presentation slide deck	10 working days	TBC
Editing and refining	5 working days	TBC

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education
Advanced university degree in one or more of the following areas: food technology/ engineering, chemical engineering, process engineering, food safety, microbiology, toxicology, human nutrition, or other relevant disciplines

Work Experience

7-10 years of progressively responsible professional work experience in food regulations, food safety, toxicology, food processing and food quality management or related field. Specific expertise in food chemistry, food microbiology food regulatory requirements, food formulation, risk assessments, process flow design and validation, material flow and food plant management are highly desirable. A combination of suitable qualifications at an undergraduate level together with demonstrated expertise in the previously mentioned fields of professional work will also be accepted.

Technical Competencies and Expertise

Knowledge of Codex standards & other international standards, sampling, product specifications development, food safety and risks management.
Ability to critically analyze information such as working papers and peer review literature, and food safety regulations
Ability to write report with a high standard of English.

Language

Fluency in spoken and written English is a mandatory requirement. French or another UN language an asset

Qualified candidates are requested to submit

1. Cover letter/application addressing how you meet the requirements of the assignment
2. Financial quote at a daily rate in US Dollars excluding all taxes
3. CV
4. At least one example of previous, relevant work
5. Brief proposal on how to accomplish the consultancy (1/2page is sufficient)
6. At least 2 References
7. Filled P11 form

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.