Effects of Poor Post-slaughter Handling Practices on Microbiological Quality of Fresh Beef from Slaughterhouses in Kenya

Compliance to appropriate post-slaughter practices during meat processing is crucial for production of safe meat and meat products. Meat quality is highly influenced by the prevailing hygiene conditions during production and processing. Poor hygienic conditions can lead to meat contamination and spoilage by pathogenic bacteria hence food borne illnesses and subsequently meat losses. This study evaluated the effects of poor handling practices on the safety and quality of fresh beef from slaughterhouses mainly in pastoral regions in Kenya. About 95 meat and surface swab samples were collected and analysed for total viable counts, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The mean Staphylococcus aureus from the rump, neck, stomach and hind legs were 5.436, 6.153, 4.868 and 4.977 log CFUg-1 respectively while that for Listeria monocytogenes was 2.259, 2.301, 2.301 and 2.392 log CFUg-1 from rump, neck stomach and hind legs respectively. The highest mean of Escherichia coli counts (3.521 log CFUg-1) was observed from the stomach. The mean TVC counts (6.339 log CFUg-1) were observed at the neck region.  The mean S. aureus, E.coli and TVC were 6.058, 4.504 and 4.491 log CFU/cm2 from the weighing scale while mean S.aureus, E. coli and TVC from steel file were 6.161, 3.482 and 3.733 log CFU/cm2 respectively. The means for S.aureus, E.coli and TVC from wedging knife were 5.926, 3.578 and 4.627 log CFU/cm2 respectively.  The means for S. aureus, E. coli and TVC were 6.141, 3.716 and 4.627 log CFU/cm2 respectively from dust coats whereas those for S. aureus, E. coli and TVC were 6.264, 4.637 and 3.733 log CFU/cm2 respectively from gumboots. The head cover also had its significant level of contamination with S. aureus, E. coli and TVC at 6.161, 3.690 and 4.491 log CFUg-1 respectively. Means for S. aureus and E. coli from clothing, equipment and fresh meat were significantly different (p<0.05).  The level of meat contamination was high and this was attributed to poor handling practices and hygiene conditions. This then necessitates the need for training and capacity building of slaughterhouses and personnel on the need for proper hygiene and good handling practices. Keywords: Post-slaughter Practices; Microbiological Quality; Fresh Beef; Hygiene Practice

Aflatoxin Contents and Exposure in Young Children, and Sensory Characteristics of a Nixtamalized Supplementary Porridge

Aflatoxin contamination of maize, is of major concern in Malawi, and levels are much higher than the tolerance limits for aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxins. Maize is a staple for Malawians and the forms prepared for consumption are presumed to have carryover toxins.  Likuni phala; a porridge flour formulated from maize and soybean in the ratio of 4:1(w/w), was developed as a supplementary food to alleviate Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM), which is highly prevalent  in under five year old children. It is assumed that the product is contaminated with carryover aflatoxin. Nixtamalization or alkali cooking has been found to reduce aflatoxin contents among other effects. The aim of this study was to establish the levels of total aflatoxin in the Likuni phala, determine their reduction in porridge preparation by addition of alkali, assess the exposure to aflatoxin in small children and also test for its sensory acceptability. Samples were collected from three factories, two cottage and one large, all located in districts of the Southern Region of Malawi. Three samples were collected from each factory at two week intervals. The samples were analysed for total aflatoxin, then cooked into porridge with addition of lime at levels between 0.1% – 0.8%. The porridges were analysed for aflatoxin and subjected to sensory evaluation. Exposure to aflatoxin on the children was also calculated.  Results showed that aflatoxin was absent in the samples from the cottage industries, but all the three samples from the large factory contained levels above the tolerance levels (10µg kg-1 for total and 5µg kg-1 for Aflatoxin B1). Cooking with alkali reduced the levels of aflatoxin to below the tolerance levels even at the lowest level of alkali addition. Sensory evaluation showed that the porridges were acceptable only up to 0.4% lime addition. The potential aflatoxin exposure to children was substantially reduced. The study concluded that acceptable Likuni phala porridge with aflatoxin levels below the tolerance levels, and substantially reduced exposure in children can be prepared by cooking with alkali addition. Keywords: Aflatoxin, Supplemental maize porridge, Nixtamalization, acceptability, Under 5 children

Knowledge on Benefits of Consumption and Cooking Time of Leafy Vegetables in a Peri urban Communities

Vegetable consumption is confers many benefits to the body. Leafy vegetables are widely available in sub-Saharan Africa. Nutritionist and other health professional’s encourage clients and patients respectively to consume them. The increase of non-communicable diseases despite the increased knowledge of benefits of leafy vegetable is worrying. Currently no Leafy vegetables have been shown to boost immunity due to the high ascorbic acid levels. Leafy vegetables are also high in fiber that enables control the blood sugar levels. This helps in the prevention and management of diabetes Cooking time of leafy vegetables is important to ensure maximum benefits from leafy vegetables. The more leafy vegetables are cooked the more the nutrients degrade. Hence cooking methods such as steaming are greatly encouraged while boiling id discouraged. This study aims at providing baseline information on the relationship between knowledge of benefits and cooking time.A cross-sectional study design was used. The tools of collecting data were interviewer administered questionnaires. The data was collected in the informal settlement of Kangemi in Nairobi- Kenya. Most respondents were women. However proportionally more men were knowledgeable on benefits than women. From the study the most respondents had knowledge of benefits of vegetables. Moreover, the most used cooking method is boiling and stewing. The results also showed that there is a significant relationship between knowledge of benefits of leafy vegetables and cooking time. However, those who have the knowledge on benefits, spent more time cooking leafy vegetables. This indicates that informing clients on benefits of leafy vegetables alone is inadequate. Clients require more information to know which cooking methods are best in reserving nutrients in order to leap maximum benefits. Keywords: Informal settlements, men, non-communicable diseases, women

Microbiological Status of Ready to Eat (RTE) Bovine Tripe Rolls Under Different Storage Conditions

Bovine tripe is a meat by-product known to favour microbial growth and can be incorporated in foodstuffs or used as a stand–alone food component. However, its utilization among sections of communities in Kenya has been limited due to inherent toughness and short-shelf-life which hinders its commercial applications. While, tripe can be the major source of microbial contamination, personnel hygiene and handling of equipment during production can be another potential source of contamination. This study was hence designed to find out the suitability and fitness for consumption of bovine tripe rolls produced from bovine tripe and stored at 4±1◦C for 28 days under aerobic and vacuum packaging conditions. The products were developed by mechanical tenderization processes by mincing and blade tenderization then cooked till the middle temperature of 83 ± 1◦C was attained and stored under different packaging conditions. The evaluation of the product for microbial quality was done using the standard analytical methods at intervals of 7 days for 28 days under refrigeration conditions. The results revealed an acceptable trend which indicated good hygienic handling of products during processing. The detected bacterial counts were in the ranges specified RTE meat products by Kenya bureau of Standards (KEBS) for the 28 days storage period of vacuum packaged products. However, the microbial counts in aerobically packaged products were significantly (p<0.05) higher than in vacuum packed products and slight off odours and slime appeared on 28th day of storage. Listeria monocytogens, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp were all absent in both aerobic and vacuum packed products. The highest days means counts for total viable counts, clostridium perfringens, staphylococcus aureus, yeast and molds, psychrophilic counts and lactobacillus spp were 5.4 log10 cfu/g, 1.7 log10 cfu/g, 1.9 log10 cfu/g, 4.1 log10 cfu/g, 5.2 log10 cfu/g, 2.1 log10 cfu/g respectively in both packages. Therefore, bovine tripe rolls prepared by mechanical tenderization can best be stored for 28 days under vacuum packaging at 4±1◦C and 21 days for aerobic packaging at the same temperature. Keywords: Bovine tripe, mechanical tenderization, microbial contamination, pathogen

Snacking and its effect on nutritional status of adolescents in two national high schools in Nairobi Kenya

Snacking is defined as any intake of food or energy-containing beverage outside of breakfast, lunch and dinner (Bellisle, 2007). Previous studies have shown that snacking among adolescents is most common in the afternoon (Cross et al., 1994; Howarth et al., 2007). This study focused on snacking and its effect on dietary intake of macronutrients from normal school balanced meals and nutritional status of adolescents in two public national high schools namely Nairobi School for boys and Kenya High School (KHS) for girls, in Kenya. These schools were purposefully and randomly selected. A cross-sectional study on nutritional status and level of snacking was carried out involving 172 and 180 adolescent girls and boys respectively aged 13 to 18 years. A total of 352 adolescent high school girls and boys were assessed. A semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on socio-economic status (SES) of the respondents’ families while qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and observations. Anthropometric measurements on height and weight for nutritional status were used. Food consumption frequency was used to assess food intake from school meals and snacks. Energy and protein intake data were collected using a 24-hour recall based on a sub-sample of 31 students (14 boys and 17 girls). Eleven percent (11.0%) boys and 10.2% girls was stunted. Almost an equivalent number of both boys and girls (45.2% and 44.1% respectively) were found to be normal and nourished. Although, the girls are more likely to be stunted than boys stunting was not significantly different between the two groups and underweight was significantly higher in boys than in girls. Significantly more girls were overweight and obese than boys. Among the students who reported to be snacking, 10.4% were underweight and 76.9% had normal BMI-for-age as compared to those who did not snack where 20.0 % were underweight and 63.3% with normal BMI-for-age. It was observed that amongst those who snacked, an equal number of boys and girls at 5.2% were underweight while 6.9% more girls than boys (5.9%) were overweight. Most of the students who snacked had a normal (89.3%) height-for-age. Amongst those who snacked and based on gender, more boys (5.9%) than girls (4.8%) were found to be stunted. Among the gender the difference between those who snacked and those who didn’t was insignificant There were almost an equivalent percentage of those who snacked at 10.7% and those who didn’t at12.0% and were stunted. There was no significant difference between the BMI-for-age among those who were snacking and those who were not (?2=5.84, p value=0.120). Whether one snacks or not there is no significant relationship between snacking, BMI- for-Age, and hence nutritional status of both adolescent boys and girls in national boarding high schools. This study shows that snacking has no effect on adolescents’ nutritional status.   Key words: adolescent, snacking, high school, malnutrition, nutritional status, underweight, overweight, obese, stunting, githeri, ugal

The Present Status of Meat Processing and Preservation in the Pastoral Regions of Kenya

The meat value chain in pastoral regions is characterized by large post-slaughter losses due to lack of appropriate preservation technologies. Reports indicate that sun-drying, salting and deep frying have been practiced for meat preservation in the pastoral regions but there is limited empirical information on the manner and extent of practice of these methods. This study was therefore designed to collect and authenticate information on meat preservation technologies practiced in the pastoral areas. Using a structured questionnaire, key informants interviews and focused group discussions, data was collected from four pastoral counties, namely Marsabit, Turkana, Garissa and Kajiado counties, in a cross-sectional survey. Data was also collected from processors and handlers in Nairobi County to provide reference of modern handling and processing. Results revealed that different communities in the pastoral areas have adopted preservation technologies based on deep frying, salting and sun-drying while cooling and curing are practiced in the modern processing facilities in Nairobi. The main storage containers used in the pastoral districts are wooden, metallic and plastic containers. Meat handling was done by men, while by-products handling was by women, the two processes are usually separated in the production floor. Deep-frying, salting and sun-drying were predominantly done to extend the shelf life and to impart the distinct flavor of pastoral meat products. Where wooden containers were used, the containers were fumigated with smoke from burned wood (Adung). Meat quality deterioration was caused mainly by unhygienic handling practices which results to microbial contamination. Spoilage was aggravated during sun-drying which is a slow process. The study concludes that there are technologies of meat processing and preservation in the pastoral areas with the potential for upgrading in terms of process hygiene and product quality to reduce post-harvest loss and make the products competitive. Keywords: indigenous technologies, meat products, pastoral region

Possibility of Incorporating Potato Flour into Three Traditional Kenyan Foods

Potato flour was blended with commercial, sifted maize meal at 10, 20, 30 and 40% levels of substitution based on flour weight, and used to prepare ugali (stiff porridge) and uji (thin porridge). Also, potato flour equivalent to 30, 40 and 50% of fresh potatoes by weight was used in the preparation of irio (a mashed mixture of cooked whole maize grains, beans, potatoes and vegetables). Potato flour could be incorporated to replace up to 40% of the maize meal in ugali and uji, and up to 50% of fresh potatoes in irio, without undesirable alteration in their physico-chemical and sensory characteristics

Utilization of Beef Slaughter By-Products among the Kenyan Pastoral Communities

Slaughter of animals (cattle, goats, sheep and camels) is very common in the pastoral areas to satisfy the high local demand for meat. Most of this slaughter is informal. Slaughter is aimed at producing meat but at the same time many by-products are produced. However information on the traditional use of slaughter by-products is scanty, in spite of their high potential for commercial utilization. This study therefore was designed to establish how beef by-products are utilized and assess their potential for utilization in commercial processed products.The counties of Turkana, Garissa, Kajiado and Marsabit were purposively selected because they are the largest livestock producers among the pastoral counties. They are inhabited by Turkana (Turkana), Somali (Garissa), Maasai (Kajiado), and Borana, Rendile and Orma(Marsabit) communities. Data was collected using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Visual observations in selected slaughterhouses were also employed.Results showed that the by-products could be divided into wastes (hooves and sometimes horns), commercial (hides, sometimes horns and bones) and food (blood, glands and organs and meat on bones). The by-products that were used for food were prepared for consumption in different ways by the different communities. The study established that the by-products were not effectively utilized leading to high post slaughter wastage. The inedible by-products such as the hides were sold to tanneries, the horns were used for ornamentals, skins as dry-skin containers and hooves were just cast away Keywords: Beef slaughter, by-products, utilization, pastoral communities, Kenya

Predictors of Hypertension among Rural Women The Case of Amagoro in Western Kenya

Background: Hypertension's association with other chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes, cause common health burden to individuals and societies resulting to a significant loss of quality life-years. It is becoming a major health hazard with a national prevalence of 24.5% and a rural prevalence of 21.4%. In 2017, WHO ranked hypertension as the 12th leading cause of death in Kenya [3-7] Objective: Investigations to establish the predictors of hypertension amongst rural women, informed the researhers to interview residents of Amagoro Division, Busia County, in Western Kenya. Methodology: A descriptive survey involving 260 women aged 15- 90 years drawn from various households in Amagoro Division predominantly Tesos. Cluster and proportional sampling was employed. Data was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. Weight, height, Waist Circumference (WC) and Hip Circumference (HC) measurements were taken. Bodymass index was then computed as weight (kg)/height2 and waist-to-hip ratio was computed as WC/HC. Blood pressure measurements were taken twice and average recorded. Hypertension was defined by blood pressure ≥140/90mmHg or taking anti-hypertensive drugs. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 22.3%. Age and household income emerged as the strongest independent risk factors  (p<0.05). increased prevalence of hypertension with increasing BMI despite the fact that majority of participants had BMI below normal [28], marital status, gender, ethnicity, scarcity of formal employment, work frustrations, such as meger renumerations were all strongly associated. Suggestion that being disadvantaged in early and adult life may be associated with hypertension [40] was a reality. The concentrations of homocysteine including its metabolites were significantly higher in the hypertensive patients (p<0.01). Conclusion: All other factors being constant, aging and household income can predict the risk of hypertension in a population. The increasing prevalence with age could be due to elevated homocysteine levels which have been found to increase gradually with age. The concentrations of High homocystein level and stiffening of the arteries during ageing [10] could be used to explain the increasing  prevalence of hypertension with age in this study. Those who spent 6 hours or more resting are more likely to suffer from hypertension as opposed to those spending 1 to 3 hours (OR=3.74, p=0.354). Beside enthinicity being a factor, there was no association due to the fact that91% came from the same ethnic grouping. Recommandation: With rising life expectancy, hypertension intervention strategies should not target only the elderly but also young people to encourage them modify their lifestyle. Key words: blood pressure, hypertension, elderly, women, Keny