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A market study of the cassava value chain was necessitated by the observation that even though cassava is the most-cultivated staple crop in Ghana, engaging the time and effort of about 83% of farming households in Ghana which translates to about 1.8 million smallholder farmers (Dziedzoave, 2008) and constitutes about 22% of the country’s Agricultural GDP (Angelucci, 2013); it has not graduated from its subsistence / semi-commercial level to a commercial level. Ghana produces over 16 million ...

In spite of its nutritional and economic values, Cashew apple has received low patronage in terms of commercialization and utilization and policy focus. This has led to underutilization and wastage of fresh fruits, which could contribute to farmer’s income. This study explored the state of awareness of the market potential and consumption of cashew apple among farm households in selected areas of Brong Ahafo in Ghana. A total 200 respondents were randomly interviewed in addition to a Foc...

This report presents a summary of activities undertaken by the CSIR-Food Research Institute team of the SmallFishFood Project. The contents of this document are captured as activities conducted in the four quarters of the year under review. In the first quarter of 2021, the project team embarked on a field trip to evaluate the extent of uptake of the technologies. It came to light that, the fish processors who were predominantly women, were satisfied with the dried fish output from the r...

Even though small fish have been categorized as having been overfished and there have been declining stocks over the past years, the small fish industry in Ghana continues to provide food security, nutrition, employment, income and maintenance of livelihoods for fishermen and fish processors. Traditionally, the process of sun drying in Ghana and other parts of Africa involves drying the fish on the ground. This practice has led to concerns about the safety and quality of these small fish...

Smoked fish is a major source of animal protein for Ghanaians. However, traditional methods for processing the commodity potentially expose consumers to food safety risks. The methods typically rely on burning wood as fuel to cook and flavour fish. This practice is known to result in high amounts of carcinogens known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the smoked fish, with the consequence that the products could endanger public health and have reduced market access. An innovat...

Urbanization, industrialization, agriculture and mining processes have greatly accelerated toxins in foods rendering food safety to be a global concern. Pesticides and heavy metals are some contaminants that accumulate in foods to cause health hazards. The study evaluates the effect of processing on levels of pesticide (OC, OP and Synthetic pyrethroids) and heavy metal (Pb, Mn, Cd and As) contaminants in cassava, cocoyam and yam in two mining towns (Obuasi and Akwatia) in Ghana. Samples were ...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a legume crop widely consumed in several parts of the world. Padi tuya and Wang kae are new varieties that were developed by CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute. In order to exploit the full food potential of these two varieties, this study characterised the compositional and physicochemical properties of the grains, as well as the functional and pasting properties of the flours from these varieties. The study also investigated the suitability...

Most African countries are popularly noted for using cereals to produce traditional non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. There have been several concerns with the safety of the locally brewed beverages produced by the informal sector in Ghana, because most of them do not adhere to good manufacturing and hygienic practices. This study aimed at determining the levels of aflatoxins and heavy metals in four locally brewed beverages, pito, asaana, nmedaa and burukutu, and assessing human exposur...

Yoghurt is a popular probiotic food rich in micronutrients but suffers from a thickness loss referred to as syneresis. To reduce this adverse sensory effect, the starches of three new cassava varieties, Abrabopa, AGRA and Bankye Hemaa, were used as thickening agents in the preparation of yoghurt. The starches were characterized by assessing their pH, moisture, colour, water absorption and binding capacities, swelling power and capacities and pasting characteristics. These three samples were i...

Masa is a traditional sour puff pastry dough made from fermented millet, rice or maize dough which is fried in a pan with individual cuplike depression. Its popularity is limited to the northern parts of Ghana but is available throughout the country. This work was carried out to assess the effect of using the different cereals in masa production on the microbial species which dominate masa fermentation and also its effect on the organoleptic quality of the masa produced. A survey was carried ...

Pito is a popular alcoholic beverage produced from malted sorghum grains. Sorghum, which is additionally used in brewing other beers, is flawed by the inadequacy of beta-amylases in its malts. Therefore, commercial beta-amylase enzymes are added to address this limitation, but they are expensive and difficult to handle during brewery and hence the need to explore alternative sources of amylases. The aim of this study was to improve the saccharification and fermentability of sorghum wort in pi...

Beef is consumed extensively in Accra and Ghana as a whole. Unfortunately, beef is a good medium for microbial growth hence it is readily contaminated by spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms if it is not handled well. This study was carried out to identify the different supply chains for the handling of beef in the Accra metropolis and assess the safety and sources of contamination of beef along the different supply chains. A survey was carried out to identify the different beef supply chai...

Burkina is a milk/millet product which has suddenly become popular in Ghana in the last few years. The product is thought to have originated from Burkina Faso but Burkina is unknown in that country. Rather Degue, a Fulani fermented milk product containing millet is well known in West African Sahelian countries including Burkina Faso. This work was carried out to compare the burkina and Degue processes, and develop a starter culture for the production of Burkina/ Degue in Ghana. A survey was c...

Noodles consumption is gradually becoming a part of the Ghanaian food system and is attractive to people of diverse income classes. The quality of cooked noodle is therefore a major criterion in determining the brand of cooked noodle to buy. One company’s cooked noodle has been rated poorly by customers, because of strands of the noodle sticking together, high salt content after cooking and not glossy as other brands. The cooked noodle is not as glossy as other brands. Two types of flour, Bak...

Cocoa beans are the main ingredient for making chocolate and in Ghana, it is a major contributor to the economy as it generates an annual foreign exchange of about US $2 billion. The ability to produce high quality cocoa beans free from moulds and mycotoxin contamination has therefore become critical due to the impact mycotoxins have on health of consumers and global trade. This study investigated changes in fungal growth, mycotoxin concentrations, physico-chemical properties and cocoa butter...