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Peanut derived food used to treat child malnutrition, particularly during famines

Plumpy'Nut is a peanut based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition manufactured by Nutriset, a French company. Feeding with the packets of this paste reduces the need for hospitalization. It can be administered at home, allowing more people to be treated. Nutriset has been criticized by Médecins Sans Frontières for enforcing its Plumpy'nut patents. However, as of 2018 Plumpy'nut patents have expired in the US, UK and the European Union.

Plumpy'Nut is used as a treatment for emergency malnutrition cases. It supports rapid weight gain derived from broad nutrient intake which can alleviate impending illness or death in a starving child. Plumpy'Nut has a two year shelf life and requires no water, preparation, or refrigeration. Severe acute malnutrition has traditionally been treated with therapeutic milk and required hospitalization. Unlike milk, Plumpy'Nut can be administered at home and without medical supervision. The United Nations has recognized this utility, stating in 2007 that "new evidence suggests that large numbers of children with severe acute malnutrition can be treated in their communities without being admitted to a health facility or a therapeutic feeding centre," Plumpy'Nut conforms to the UN definition of a Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). Plumpy'Nut is not intended for routine nutrition, or for malnutrition in non famine situations. Peanut allergies have not been found to be a problem in usage due to a lack of allergic reactions in the target populations.

The ingredients in Plumpy'Nut include "peanut based paste, with sugar, vegetable oil and skimmed milk powder, enriched with vitamins and minerals". A number of partner companies and one non profit organization in the U. S. state of Rhode Island make Plumpy'Nut. There are six factories in African countries (Niger, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Sudan, Madagascar, Kenya), one in Haiti and another one in India. Factors affecting potential for loss of efficiency in the supply chain are information flow on orders, basis of need, forecasts, flow upstream from field officers and country offices to parties controlling regional distribution and manufacturing by Nutriset, downstream flow of information on delivery times and order status. In at least 27 African nations, any non profit (including NGOs) can make the paste and not pay a license fee. Invalidation of the Nutriset patent may have a positive impact on populations affected by famine, and studies by humanitarian organizations support the idea that having a single, dominant supplier in Nutriset is undesirable. Critics of Nutriset argue the US patent is "obvious in light of prior recipes" and "that the patent has essentially conferred monopoly power on Nutriset and thus violated the Sherman Act". Following a threat of legal action against a Norwegian company that was exporting a similar product to Kenya, Nutriset was criticized by Médecins Sans Frontières, A UNICEF study, commissioned at Duke University and the University of North Carolina, recommended a diversified supplier base of RUTF products to better serve global needs. In response to the criticism, Nutriset has allowed companies and NGOs in some African countries to make the paste and not pay license fees. The Plumpy'Nut patents in the USA expired in 2017 , and in the UK and the European Union in 2018 .