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Open sun drying (OSD) has been a fish processing method for ages. In Ghana women form a large number of processors. Post-harvest losses still prevail in the trade due to poor fish handling, processing and storage which results in poor quality of dried fish. Solar drying has been introduced to improve on quality of OSD dried fish. A survey of open sun drying practices (OSD) at Kasoa (Central Region) and Tema (Greater Accra Region) showed poor hygiene practices and low value of products. The cu...

Cassava and sweetpotato are root and tuber crops cultivated in Ghana that could serve as industrial raw material for ethanol production. Investigations were conducted to optimize the yield of ethanol from two (2) varieties each of Cassava and Sweetpotato. Response surface methodology was used to model the optimum liquefaction, saccharification and fermentation conditions for ethanol production from the cassava and sweetpotato varieties. Three starch hydrolytic enzymes (Liquozyme SC DS, Spiriz...

Kenkey, is a maize based sour, stiff dumpling, and it is among the most common fermented cereal food products in Ghana. There are several types of kenkey, and while some are made from whole maize grains others are produced using degermed/and dehulled maize grains. The kenkey types made using dehulled maize grains are less popular and have largely remained at the level of “ethnic food”, restricted to very few socio-cultural communities. Current trends in urbanization, and the increasing popula...

Flour of five new varieties of improved certified pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) were evaluated for their physicochemical, functional properties and performance in bread products. The formulated breads were evaluated by 50 untrained panellists. The flours had colour values of L*(60.0 to 70.4), a* (+0.3 to +1.1) and b*(+4.3 to +10.5), low mean water solubility (3.8 ± 0.1) and swelling properties (4.5 ± 0.1) but high water binding capacity (121.4 ± 2.1). SAR002 (Naaad Kohblug) had the h...

The aim of the study was to examine the roles of both male and female farmers in the agricultural sector and how the interact to perform these role. The fieldwork researched two communities in two districts of northern region, Ghana. Data was also collected from agricultural development agencies: Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and World Vision Ghana (WVG). Data collection was achieved through formal surveys, Focus Group Discussions ...

Cowpea, the first crop to be harvested in semi-arid regions is an important food crop that bridges that hunger gap that exists before cereal crops are harvested. This paper assesses the adoption of improved cowpea varieties with farmers in Northern Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were administered to 250 farmers: 230 male and 20 female farmers. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 4 districts, 8 communities and17 households in each community where quantitative and qualitative ...

The aim of this study was to characterize the physicochemical properties of starch isolated from two varieties of tigernuts. The results showed wide variations between the two types of tigernuts. Mean granule sizes were 11.1 and 6.1 𝜇m, respectively, for starch from the yellow and black while amylose content ranged from 19 to 21%. Starch gels from the yellow variety were more stable to freeze-thaw and recorded 37.1% syneresis, compared to 56.5% after the first storage cycle. Pasting properti...

Assessment of resident microbiological contamination of six imported seasoning powders on the Ghanaian market were studied using three media DRBC, OGYE and PCA. The presence of moulds and yeasts was compared on two media (DRBC and OGYE) at 30ᵒC for 7days and bacteria on PCA at 35ᵒC for 48hr. Determination of elemental compositions and mycotoxin analyses (aflatoxins and ochratoxins) were also analysed using AAS spectrometry and HPLC technique respectively. As a means of eliminating resident mi...

Background: Vitamin A defi ciency (VAD) could be prevented by the consumption of pro-vitamin A (β-carotene)-rich Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) leaves. M. oleifera grows well in many developing countries, and dried leaves also retain a high percentage of β-carotene on storage; they could thus serve as an excellent, convenient source of this pro-vitamin A carotenoid. This study assessed the effi cacy of the supplementation of dried M. oleifera leaves on the vitamin A and haematological sta...

Background: Mushroom cultivation is increasingly becoming a serious agribusiness in Ghana, especially at the time when entrepreneurship is being encouraged to reduce the pressure of employment in the government sector and also due to its nutritional and medicinal attributes. Methods: A survey was carried out using the rapid appraisal method to review the existing methods of sterilization, use of gamma radiation in substrate sterilization and food preservation, preference of mushrooms in Gha...

Senescent plantains have relatively very rapid deterioration rate compared to plantains at other ripening stages. In Ghana, they are used for products which are consumed either as a snack or a main meal. This paper presents results of a study conducted in five regions of Ghana to investigate processing of senescent plantain products and evaluate their physicochemical characteristics and microbial quality. Survey data were collected on product types and processing methods. Freshly prepared pr...

Following the successful design, fabrication and installation of the gas cabinet dryer at Quarcoo Initiatives, a 2-day training program was organized for staff of the company. This training was aimed at introducing staff of the company to dried fruit processing and also to orient them on the operation of the gas cabinet dryer. The training included both theory and hand-on practical sessions. Fours fruits, pineapple, pawpaw, mango and coconut were used to practically demonstrate the various un...

A 2-day training in flavored milk beverage production was organized for a small scale enterprise from 14th to 15th June, 2017 at the Food Technology research Division, CSIR-Food Research Institute. The program was in two sessions (theory and practical) and covered topics in basic food processing, milk processing, food safety and sanitation. This approach was adopted in order to give the participant a deeper understanding of food processing techniques and also equip him with practical skills i...

Traditionally, fufu preparation is time consuming and very labour intensive. Due to changing societal trends, urbanization and the need to make life easy and comfortable, the fufu milling machine was fabricated to enable fufu processors prepare fufu in shorter time frames and with reduced labour. Previous studies on the microbial quality of fufu have shown that the traditionally prepared fufu have high contamination levels with diverse organisms. The aim of this study was therefore to assess...

The PAYDP is an NGO that has a vision to improve the welfare of vulnerable street girls such as head porters. The NGO’s hopes to empower this vulnerable group in society through legal literacy, livelihood skills training, adolescent and sexual reproductive health education and human rights advocacy . As part of their livelihood enhancement activities, a training was held at CSIR-Food Research Institute for 20 Head Porters selected by the NGO from Accra and Kumasi. The aim of the training was ...

Following the successful design, fabrication and installation of the gas cabinet dryer at CESPIM, Tantra Hills, a training program was held for staff of the company and other members of the Fruits Processors and Marketers Association of Ghana. This training was aimed at introducing staff of the company to dried fruit processing and also to orient them on the operation of the gas cabinet dryer. The training included both theory and hands-on practical sessions. Mangoes were used to practically ...

The training workshop was organized in 2 modules, which involved theory and practical. The theory module was essentially to orient them and introduce them to the basics of food processing, food safety and good manufacturing practices. This session was made interactive and participatory, with ample time being allowed for questions, comments and general discussions. This approach is key in linking and relating indigenous knowledge in food processing to proven scientific and professional food pr...

Aflatoxins have been of major public health concern ever since they were discovered. A simple physical manual sorting procedure and blanching to facilitate the elimination of aflatoxins in raw peanuts was designed, conducted and verified using workshop participants. Two processors were then trained on the technology. Six streams of kernels namely, raw unsorted kernels, pre-sorted kernels (immature and shrivelled kernels), three levels of bad discoloured kernels (≤10% discoloured kernels, ≤50%...