Browsing by Author "Kassim, Neema"

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    Challenges and Opportunities Toward Sustainable Consumption and Value Addition of Cashew Apples in Tanzania
    (SAGE, 2020) Dimoso, Noel; Aluko, Angela; Makule, Edna; Kassim, Neema
    Cashew apple is an important healthy fruit due to its high nutrient contents, particularly vitamin C. However, its full potential is yet to be realized in low technological countries. This paper explores farmers’ consumption habits, processing methods, and utilization constraints faced. Also, osmotic-solar dried product was developed. In an exploratory survey, 600 farmers across the surveyed districts were interviewed. The study revealed that the majority of farmers consume raw cashew apples, with 61.9% consuming more than five fruits a day and about 56.0% consuming almost every day during the season. About 43.7% of farmers traditionally process cashew apple porridge and alcohol. Lack of knowledge on post harvest handling (86.2%), and processing technologies (82.7%) were mostly claimed to hamper the utilization. The developed dried products retained 59.4% of total acidity, 37.4% of total ascorbic acid, and 68.5% tannins. In addition, the product received better sensory scores and overall acceptability. Though solar drying relies heavily on weather condi tions, where possible it could be a better alternative to traditional methods. The combination of blanching, osmotic dehydration and solar drying could provide economically feasible value added products to both urban and rural settings and ultimately reduce the post-harvest losses and unleash their economic potential
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    Effectiveness and Suitability of Oyster Mushroom in Improving the Nutritional Value of Maize Flour Used in Complementary Foods
    (Hindawi, 2021-03-16) Siyame, Prisca; Kassim, Neema; Makule, Edna
    Complementary foods based on habitual cereals such as maize have been linked with the promotion of undernutrition in young children. Blending the starchy-rich maize with nutritious-rich indigenous food such as oyster mushroom could improve the nutritional composition of complementary foods. This study investigated the effectiveness and suitability of oyster mushrooms in improving the nutritional value of maize flour commonly used as a bulk ingredient in complementary foods. Flour made of well-cleaned and sun-dried oyster mushroom was blended with maize flour at 0% (control), 30%, 40%, and 50%. Proximate composition, mineral density, and sensory evaluation were determined using standard procedures. Significant improvement in the nutritional quality of formulated flour blends with all proportions of mushroom flour was obtained . Blending maize flour with 30%, 40%, or 50% oyster mushroom flour improved the protein content of formulated flour blends from 8.63% to 18.20%, 8.63% to 20.37% and 8.63% to 22.75%, respectively. The increase in ash and fiber content ranged between 82.52% to 84.16% and 50.69% to 58.35%, respectively. Mineral content of formulated flour blends was improved from 62.89% to 64.72% (iron), 7.63% to 22.69% (zinc), 77.48% to 78.02% (calcium), and 67.55% to 67.64% (potassium). Sensory scores of porridges prepared from formulated flour blends showed good acceptance for the colour, flavour, and aroma of the porridges from three formulated flour blends. Overall, this study recommends blending oyster mushroom with maize flour to improve the nutritional content of formulated flour blend for young children who rely on maize porridge as their complementary food.