Management Practices in the Ghanaian House Building Industry

Against the background of the perennial management challenges facing the Ghanaian House Building Industry, project management practices in the implementation of Mass House Building Projects (MHBPs) is presented with a view to reflecting on their strength and weaknesses. The role of project managers (PMs) and their performance on these projects are reviewed including how they have helped or met project objectives especially in terms of completion dates and cost. The evidence gathered suggests that, professional project management services, emanating from project inception to completion can potentially help in minimizing the effects of some of the key managerial challenges. It is suggested that, all other things being equal, some characteristics of the professional project management services could be adopted and embodied into a framework within which current management practices can be advanced for improving effective delivery of future housing projects.Keywords: Ghana, housing- delivery, project managers, professional project managemen

Changes in physico-chemical characteristics and volatile flavour components of different yoghurt products made from soy, peanuts and cow milk

Milk blends from legumes are potential nutritional substitutes in cultures where cow milk is used for yoghurt production. Peanut and soy based products have been considered to have poor sensory characteristics due to the beany and off-flavours they generate in food products that contain them. The high polyunsaturated fatty acid content of legumes makes these products susceptible to lipid oxidation leading to rancidity and development of off-flavours. Acceptability ratings of these products have been significantly lower than the traditional dairy products. Nonetheless, food scientists are still faced with the challenge of formulating foods that are appealing and acceptable to consumers, but still contain significant amounts of these oilseed proteins for their health benefits. The development of a storage stable yoghurt product from these vegetable seeds has the potential to increase utilization and market for peanut and soy beans. The study investigated the keeping quality of Soy-peanut-cow milk yoghurt (SPCY), Defatted peanut-soy milk yoghurt (DPSY) and Cow milk yoghurt (CMY) refrigerated at 5°C over a period of 21 days during storage. Volatile flavor compounds in the different yoghurt samples were determined by static head space technique using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). Titratable acidity increased in all samples after one week of storage but was highest in CMY (1.2% - 2.60%) followed by DPSY (0.57% - 0.89%). SPCY had the least titratable acidity value (0.23% - 0.44%). CMY and DPSY were more susceptible to syneresis. Free fatty acid (FFA) and peroxide value (PV) were high in the full fat product compared to defatted product and cow milk yoghurt. Flavour analysis using GC-MS identified aldehydes, alcohols, organic acids and furans as the volatile flavour components in the yoghurts studied. The defatted vegetable milk yoghurt (DPSY) had better storage keeping qualities than the whole fat vegetable milk yoghurt (SPCY) and the control (CMY). Defatting of oilseeds prior to use in food formulations can enhance the storage stability of the products. Utilization of less expensive and available indigenous crops such as soy beans and peanut in yoghurt production will help reduce the cost of the product in some developing countries.Key words: Vegetable milk yoghurt, storage characteristics, volatile flavour compound

Characterization of the dominant microorganisms responsible for the fermentation of dehulled maize grains into nsiho in Ghana

Nsiho (white kenkey) is a type of kenkey, a sour stiff dumpling, produced from fermented maize meal in Ghana. The dominant microorganisms responsible for the fermentation of nsiho were characterized by analysing samples from four traditional production sites at Anum in the Eastern Region of Ghana. During 48 h of steeping dehulled maize grains, the pH values decreased from 6.05 to 5.93 to 3.59 to 3.55, whilst titratable acidity increased from 0.02 to 0.03 to 0.27 to 0.32%. In the subsequent 12 h dough fermentation, the pH decreased from 6.02 to 5.80 to 3.52 to 3.46, whilst titratable acidity increased from 0.25 to 0.27 to 0.35 to 0.38%. The lactic acid bacteria population increased by 2 to 5 log units to concentrations of 107 to 108 CFU/ml during steeping and by 2 to 3 log units from 105 to 106 CFU/g to 108 to 109 CFU/g during dough fermentation. Yeasts counts increased by 3 to 4 log units during steepingand by 2 to 4 log units during dough fermentation. The most frequently isolated lactic acid bacteria responsible for nsiho fermentation were identified as Lactobacillus fermentum (47.1%), Lactobacillus brevis (25%), Lactobacillus plantarum (14.42%), Pediococcus pentosaceus (8.65%) and Pediococcus acidilactici, (4.8%). The dominant yeasts species were Saccharyomyces cerevisiae (47.6%), Candida krusei (29.1%),  Debaryomyces spp., (15%) and Trichosporon spp., (8.3%). This is the first  study to report on the micororganisms involved in nsiho fermentation.Key words: Nsiho, dehulled maize, kenkey, lactic acid bacteria, indigenous African fermented foods

Effectiveness of three different storage structures and curing process for the storage of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Ghana

Three different storage structures and two curing processes for the storage of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) were studied at the CSIR-Food Research Institute, Accra. Sweet potato roots initially cured under warm(30-35 °C) and very humid (90-95% relative humidity) conditions for 7 and 14 days were stored in local (traditional), pit, and clamp storage structures for 84 days. After 0-84 days of storage, the roots were sampled and physically assessed into wholesome, sprouted, fungalinfected, and insect and rodent-damaged. The decrease in percentage wholesome roots corresponded to an increase in percentage fungal-infected roots from 0 to 84 days of storage in all the three different storage structures. Clamp storage structure recorded the highest percentage wholesome roots (20.0%) compared to pit (16.3%) and local (0%) after 84 days of storage when roots were cured for 7 days. However, for 14 days cured roots stored for 84 days, local storage structure recorded the highest percentage wholesome roots (20%), pit (0%), and clamp (10%). Higher percentages of fungal-infected sweet potato roots were recorded from roots cured for14 days. Percentage sprouted roots was higher in clamp, followed by pit and local storage structures. Sprouting was delayed for sweet potato roots that were cured for 14 days in all the storage structures. Percentage damage of sweet potato roots by insect and rodent was lower inall the three storage structures compared to the fungalinfected sweet potato roots

The microbiota of dried traditional vegetables produced in the Sudan Savannah and Guinea Savannah agro-ecological zones of Ghana

Abstract: Traditional vegetables are an important article of diet of the ethnic groups from the northern parts of Ghana. Such vegetables are preserved by sundrying and consumed throughout the year. These are mostly leafy vegetables and include Hibiscus sabdariffa (sorrel), Bomtax costatum (kapok), Ceratotheca sesamoides, Adansonia digitata, and Hibiscus esculentus (okro), respectively called by the local names shure or sobolo, daala, yaudo, kuuka, and okro (common name). The dominant microbiota of ten common dried traditional vegetables were investigated by enumerating total bacteria, yeasts and moulds, lactic acid bacteria, Bacillus species and coliform bacteria. Isolates were characterized by colony and cell morphology, and by biochemical tests. The water activities of all the dried vegetables were between 0.513 and 0.539. Shuri and bisap had low pH values, between 2.6 and 2.71, whilst the other vegetables had relatively higher pH values ranging from 5.21 to 6.39. Moulds and Bacillus spp. dominated the biota of all the dried vegetables although lactic acid bacteria and coliforms were also isolated in most of these products. Bacterial counts of the dried vegetables were between 10 3 and 10 7 CFU/g. Aspergillus spp, Rhizopus spp, Eurotium spp, Penicillium spp and Aureobasidium spp. were the major genera of moulds identified in the dried vegetables. The dominant Bacillus species in all samples was Bacillus subtilis except in the okro pods and leaves where Bacillus cereus was dominant. The dominant lactic acid bacteria were Lactobacillus plantarum and pediococci. Escherichia coli was not detected in any of the dried vegetables, however, Enterobacter aerogenes was detected in most of the samples. Because of the high microbial levels in the dried vegetables, it is recommended that handling procedures be improved by primarily sanitizing the fresh vegetables prior to drying in solar dryers

Consumer Perceptions, Knowledge and Preferences for Aromatic Rice Types in Ghana

Abstract: Even though rice forms a major part of the Ghanaian diet, locally produced rice is not patronized as it should. A survey of 390 rice consumers was conducted in Accra, Ghana to ascertain consumer perceptions, knowledge and preferences for aromatic rice as a basis for quality improvement of local rice. Results showed that most consumers (94.9%) were more familiar with imported rice and this was reflected in their patronage patterns. The reasons why consumers did not patronize locally cultivated rice are poor post harvest handling, non-availability, and the generally perceived poor quality. The few (29%) who consume local rice do so out of the perception that it is inexpensive and has better nutritional quality. Both cooked and raw attributes of rice influence consumer preference. Whilst the appearance of raw rice (Friedman rank mean = 2.86) was critical to consumers' choice, taste and aroma determined consumer preference for cooked rice; being ranked 4.96 and 4.46 respectively. [Nature and Science 2010;8(12):12-19] (ISSN: 1545-0740)