Consumption of traditional cowpea-based dishes in urban and rural areas of South Benin

The FFQ included two parts. In the first part, data on the household head’s socio-professional characteristics, household income and expenses, household belongings, and housing characteristics were collected to characterize the household socio-economic index. In the second part, data on the consumption of cowpea-based dishes and the estimation of the quantities consumed over one week were recorded.

During the FFQ-based interviews, general questions about the consumption of various legume species were first asked. This was followed by questions on the cowpea-based dish types consumed by the respondent during the previous week (7-day recall). For each cowpea-based dish, we recorded how many times it was consumed, the last place of consumption, and the quantity usually consumed (estimated using the food atlas).

The research protocols describing all procedures that implicated human participants in Cotonou and in the rural areas were submitted to the Benin National Committee of Ethics for Health Re-search, and approved. The clearance numbers are N° 29 (2017) and N°14 (2019) for the survey in Cotonou and in the rural areas respectively. Informed Consent Statement: All respondents gave their signed consent to participate before the start of each interview.

The respondents’ anonymity was respected, as stated in the consent form.