ABSTRACTIron deficiency is the most widespread nutritional problem in the world. It is common throughout childhood and prevalent among 6-12 month olds or 1 - 2 year olds when 70% and 50% of the respective requirements arise from the rapid rate of tissue growth. Despite large-scale iron supplementation programmes, the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia remains high especially in developing countries. Low iron intake and poor absorption or bioavailability of iron in the diet can cause negati...
ABSTRACT This work investigated the effects of mechanical depulping (asa means of pulp pre-conditioning) on thechemical, physicochemical and polyphenolic constituents during fermentation and drying of Ghanaian cocoa beans. The fermentation study and the drying study were conducted using a 5x4 factorial experiment with the principal factors being;(a) concentration of depulped beans (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%),(b) fermentation time (0, 2, 4 and 6 days) and(a) concentration of depulped beans (0, ...
ABSTRACTQuestionnaires were administered to a hundred and thirty- two mothers (132) selected at random at four (4) mother and child welfare clinics in Accra in order to obtain their views and expectations of cowpea-fortified weaning formulations. Majority of these mothers (>80%) prepared infant weaning porridges from raw ingredients, eg. fermented maize dough, and were willing to incorporate cowpea into their infant porridges and other foods if it was available as a raw or pre-cooked flour on...
ABSTRACT Food safety and the occurrence of diarrhoea are a challenge in the management of food systems in Africa. Infections arising from diarrhoea can be very devastating on the population, especially children. The traditional fermented maize dough systems have been identified as being able to reduce considerably the growth of diarrhoeal causing organisms and improve safety The study was set up to investigate: 1. The survival of selected diarrhoeal causing bacteria (Salmonella, Shigella and ...
ABSTRACT Drying, a process for food preservation involves subjecting a food commodity to high temperatures that aid in the removal of moisture thereby making the food shelf stable. The objective of this study was to design a greenhouse type solar dryer that would be used for the drying of cassava and other foods and evaluate the characteristics of the dried products. The rationale behind this study was that open sun drying has been the method of drying over the centuries but it is subjected ...
ABSTRACT The eating habits, nutrient intakes and nutrition knowledge of one hundred and forty adolescent students from four secondary schools in the central region of Ghana were investigated. Instruments used for the data collection included questionnaires, food records, anthropometric measurements and observations. Data obtained were analysed using a computer and descriptive analysis was used to present the data. Jellife's anthropometric reference data, Kaufman's weight classification and Bo...
ABSTRACT Cashew is made up of the nut attached to the apple (false fruit) both of which have nutritional significance and economic value. Evaluating the changes that occur during growth and maturation as well as processing w ill help to optimize quality. This is what the study involved. Compositional and physical changes were monitored in six cultivars o f cashew (apple and nut). Local cashew trees were selected randomly after flowering. Collection o f samples commenced after fruit set and at...
ABSTRACT Guinea fowl “(Numida meleagris) production is the”main basis of livelihood to many Ghanaians with substantial “role in nutrition and food security.”Due to the nutritional quality of guinea fowl meat, it has resulted in processing of the meat into various shelfstable and ready-to-eat” meat “products, such as”smoked, grilled or fried meat. However, the current traditional guinea fowl meat processing methods do not always guarantee a prolonged “shelf life and quality of ...
ABSTRACT Preservation and storage of whole maize flour poses a lot of problems owing to its fat content among other factors. This study therefore sought to develop processing and preservation procedures for maize flour and also to determine the effect of storage time on some quality indices o f the product. Degermed maize flour was prepared using a maize sheller and grits obtained milled into flour using a disc attrition mill and non-degermed maize flour prepared by direct milling of the mai...
ABSTRACT Pest and disease have been the major causes of low cocoa production worldwide and the use of chemicals in the form of pesticides is one of the main ways of mitigating their undesirable outcome. However, inappropriate application of pesticides does not only affect the quality of cocoa bean products and the wellbeing of consumers of such products but can also damage the natural flora and fauna in the environment. Hence the reason why evaluating the concentrations of pesticide residues...
ABSTRACT Melon seeds namely Agushie variety 1 and variety 2 (Cucumeropsi.s edulis) and Neri (Citrullus lanatus) were studied. These were distinguished from each other by the colour of their seedcoat and1 their size. Neri was found to have the lowest protein content (19.62%) compared to approximately 28% for the agushie. All three melonseeds contained approximately 4-7'/. oil. There was very little carbohydrate in all the varieties and starch was absent. The oils extracted from the three va...
ABSTRACT Fermentation and nixtamalization have been used to enhance the quality and nutritional value of cereals. “Kudeme” a product of microbial and biochemical disintegration of cassava was inoculated into nixtamalized maize dough and fermented, to study the influence of the addition of kudeme on the characteristics of nixtamalized maize dough. The functional and physico-chemical indices were monitored. A 4 x 5 factorial design of kudeme level by fermentation time was used in pre-testi...
ABSTRACT A study was made of the effect on pepper quality of the traditional method of processing the "Balancotta" variety of Piper nigrum (black pepper). The study comparatively considered the microbiological quality, drying method, drying rate, colour and appearance, washing or cleaning method, prior to fermentation or heaping as well as an alternative method - heat treatment processing of the commodity. Using a solar dryer as a drying apparatus resulted in 9.8% moisture content of the sam...
ABSTRACT Roasted plantain (boli) is a delicacy in Nigeria. The conventional method of processing this food is crude, stressful and unhygienic In this work, an electric roaster capable of roasting twenty-one plantain fingers per batch was designed, fabricated and tested.
ABSTRACT Cleaning is central to any food process operation and it entails the removal of soils from processing equipment, food contact surfaces and production floor. It is done with the aid of a cleaning agent and key among several are the soaps and detergents. Most detergents currently used in the industry are petroleum based, which are not easily biodegradable. Moreover they are imported, and add costs to the operations of industry. The use of locally available material that are biodegradab...