Microbial contamination associated with the processing of tchachanga, a roasted meat product

This study aimed to assess the microbiological contamination and quality of tchachanga, a roasted meat braised product processed at traditional scale in Benin, West Africa. A survey was performed to collect samples of tchachanga and data related to hygienic conditions of the roasted meat processing environment. A total of 60 samples of tchachanga including skewers, roasted meat and seasoned wrapped meat were collected from different processing sites in Cotonou, Benin. The main food borne microorganisms involved were investigated using standard methods. Moreover, a follow-up of tchachanga processing was performed to identify contamination factors of the product. In this respect, samples were collected at certain steps during the processing, and various microorganisms such as coliforms, pathogenic Staphylococcus and Salmonella were traced. The number of mesophilic aerobic bacteria in different products ranged between 6.47±0.61 and 6.93±0.43 Log (cfu/g). Total coliforms, faecal coliforms and Staphylococci ranged from 1.59 to 4.79, 1.00 to 3.2 and 3.49 to 5.2 Log (cfu/g), respectively. No significant differences were observed in the microbial count of different types of tchachanga investigated, but different processing methods had significant changes in the microbial content of the samples as a result of the processing environments and the ingredients used. The presence of Salmonella sp. was observed in all products.Keywords: Street food, Tchachanga, meat, microbiology, qualityAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2449-245

Phenotypic characters of yeasts isolated from kpete-kpete, a traditional starter of a Benin opaque sorghum beer

Opaque sorghum beers are the most consumed African alcoholic beverages. Tchoukoutou is one of the Benin opaque sorghum beers. Its fermentation process is carried out using a traditional starter called kpete-kpete. The present study characterized and identified the yeasts isolated from kpete-kpete. A total of 24 samples of kpete-kpete were collected from eight different commercial processing sites in Northern Benin. The mean values of the pH, titrable acidity, dry matter content and refractive index for all samples were respectively 3.58; 0.07% as lactic acid; 16.61% and 7.0. The mean counts of yeasts was 9.24 log cfu/ml. Based on their phenotypic characters and their assimilation profiles, 49 yeasts were isolated and found to belong to five genera with seven species. Seventy one percent (71%) of the isolates were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae.Key words: Sorghum beer, tchoukoutou, kpete-kpete, yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Effects of Genotype and Growth Temperature on the Contents of Tannin, Phytate and in vitro Iron Availability of Sorghum Grains

Background: It has been predicted that the global temperature will rise in the future, which means crops including sorghum will likely be grown under higher temperatures, and consequently may affect the nutritional properties. Methods: The effects of two growth temperatures (OT, day/night 32/21°C; HT 38/21°C) on tannin, phytate, mineral, and in vitro iron availability of raw and cooked grains (as porridge) of six sorghum genotypes were investigated. Results: Tannin content significantly decreased across all sorghum genotypes under high growth temperature (P ≤0.05), while the phytate and mineral contents maintained the same level, increased or decreased significantly, depending on the genotype. The in vitro iron availability in most sorghum genotypes was also significantly reduced under high temperature, except for Ai4, which showed a pronounced increase (P ≤0.05). The cooking process significantly reduced tannin content in all sorghum genotypes (P ≤0.05), while the phytate content and in vitro iron availability were not significantly affected. Conclusions: This research provides some new information on sorghum grain nutritional properties when grown under predicted future higher temperatures, which could be important for humans where sorghum grains are consumed as staple food

Bioavailability of Iron, Zinc, Phytate and Phytase Activity during Soaking and Germination of White Sorghum Varieties

The changes in phytate, phytase activity and in vitro bioavailability of iron and zinc during soaking and germination of three white sorghum varieties (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), named Dorado, Shandweel-6, and Giza-15 were investigated. Sorghum varieties were soaked for 20 h and germinated for 72 h after soaking for 20 h to reduce phytate content and increase iron and zinc in vitro bioavailability. The results revealed that iron and zinc content was significantly reduced from 28.16 to 32.16% and 13.78 to 26.69% for soaking treatment and 38.43 to 39.18% and 21.80 to 31.27% for germination treatments, respectively. Phytate content was significantly reduced from 23.59 to 32.40% for soaking treatment and 24.92 to 35.27% for germination treatments, respectively. Phytase enzymes will be activated during drying in equal form in all varieties. The results proved that the main distinct point is the change of phytase activity as well as specific activity during different treatment which showed no significant differences between the varieties used. The in vitro bioavailability of iron and zinc were significantly improved as a result of soaking and germination treatments

Indigenous knowledge associated with the production of starters culture used to produce Beninese opaque sorghum beers

Objective: The present study aims to document the indigenous Knowledge associated with the production of starters culture to be used for opaque sorghum beers manufacturing in BeninMethodology and results: A quantitative survey was carried out in the central and the northern regions of Benin. A total of ninety (90) processors of traditional beers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire.The collected information was related to the processing method of the starters’ production, its shelf life as well as sociodemographic data on the producers. Five types of starters were identified during this investigation.Apart from the beer itself which can be used as starter, we can distinguish kpètè-kpètè; the fermentation calabash, the bag and the belt of  fermentation. Among them, the fermentation calabash was mostly used by74% (67/90) of beer producers followed by kpètè-kpètè 21% (19/90). In some cases, these starters were used in association with each other to speed up the fermentation process. All the producers were women with anaverage age of 38 years old. Among those women, about 73% (66/90) produce and sell the beer as principal activity. According to 56% (51/90) of the producers, the quality of the manufactured beer depends on the qualityof the starter used. Many other factors such as the sorghum variety, the brewing technique can also affect the beer quality. It is reported by 70% (63/90) of producers that the storage duration reduces the fermentativeability of kpètè-kpètè. Some health-related properties such as the  treatment of diarrhoea have been attributed to kpètè-kpètè by 73% (66/90) of the producers interviewed.Conclusion and application of results: the fermentation calabash is the most used starter by traditional beer producers because of the quality of the derived beer. The kpètè-kpètè comes in the second position butpossesses the advantage of being used by people to cure humans and animals diseases. Further investigations are needed to identify the  functional microorganisms involved in the kpètè-kpètè to better understanding its health-related attributes.Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge, tchoukoutou, kpètè-kpètè, fermentation, Benin

Effet des opérations unitaires d’extraction sur le rendement et la qualité du beurre de Pentadesma butyracea produit en milieu traditionnel au Bénin

Objectif : Le présent travail vise à déterminer les principales opérations unitaires qui affectent significativement le rendement de production et la qualité du beurre de Pentadesma butyracea (arbre à beurre) obtenu par deux méthodes traditionnelles.Méthodologie et Résultats : Un suivi de la production du beurre suivant les deux méthodes (M1 et M2) traditionnelles les plus utilisées en milieu traditionnel au Nord du Bénin a été réalisé chez trois productrices de beurre à deux occasions différentes. A ces occasions, le bilan des matières a été réalisé. Les caractéristiques physico-chimiques des beurres issus des deux méthodes ont été déterminées par des méthodes de références. Ces caractéristiques sont comparées à celles des beurres extraits avec del’hexane au Soxhlet à partir des amandes collectées lors des traitements thermiques (amandes bouillies séchées, amandes torréfiées, amandes frites). Le rendement en beurre varie de 30,5±5,1% à 35,8±1,2%pour M1 et de 15,0±1,2 à 36,2 ±0,5% pour M2 et est nettement inférieur à ceux de l’extraction au Soxhlet (45,0 à 51,4%). Les beurres issus des méthodes traditionnelles sont de meilleure qualité que ceux extraitschimiquement dont les caractéristiques physicochimiques varient (CV de 23,7 à 62,3%) en fonction des paramètres opératoires (durée et température) d’obtention des amandes.Conclusion et applications : La cuisson, suivie du séchage au soleil, la torréfaction, la friture, et le barattage sont les opérations qui affectent le plus la qualité et le rendement du beurre de Pentadesma butyracea, quelle que soit la méthode utilisée. Cette analyse scientifique des méthodes utilisées par les productrices rurales pour transformer les amandes de Pentadesma en beurre devrait être utile pour établir les meilleures conditions de transformation des amandes. C’est une étape préliminaire à l’optimisation du rendement d'extraction et de la qualité du beurre de Pentadesma butyracea.Mots clés : Arbre à beurre; Indices de qualité, Couleur, Insaponifiables, Traitements thermiques Effect of unit operations on the extraction yield and quality of the Pentadesma butyracea butter produced in traditional areas of BeninObjective: The present study aims to identify the main unit operations that significantly affect the production yield and the quality of Pentadesma butyracea (butter tree) butter obtained by two traditional processing methodsMethodology and Results: Monitoring of the production of two traditional processing methods (M1 and M2) of Pentadesma butyracea butter commonly used in northern Benin were performed by three butter processors at two different occasions. On these occasions, the mass balance has been established. The physico-chemical characteristics of butter from both methods were assessed using reference methods. These characteristics are compared with those butters extracted with hexane from kernels collected during heat treatments (boiled and dried kernels, roasted kernels, fried kernels). The production yield varies from 30.5 ± 5.1% to 35.8 ± 1.2% for M1 and 15.0 ± 1.2 to 36.2 ± 0.5% for M2, significantly lower than the extraction performance laboratory which is of the order of 45.0 to 51.4%. The butter from traditional methods is better than chemically extracted whose physicochemical characteristics vary (CV=23.7 to 62.3%) by obtaining almonds parameters.Conclusion and applications: Cooking followed by sun drying, roasting, frying, and churning are the operations that most affected the quality and yield extraction of Pentadesma butter, whatever the method used. The scientific analysis carried out of methods used by rural women to process Pentadesma kernel into Pentadesma butter should be useful for  establishing processing conditions for improve the extraction yield and quality of Pentadesma butter. This is a preliminary step for the  optimization of the extraction yield and quality of Pentadesma butyracea butter.Keywords: Butter tree; Quality index, Color, Unsaponifiable, Heat treatment, Beni