Michael Ukwuru

The Federal Polytechnic Idah · Department of Food Science and Technology

Food fraud presents a growing threat globally, impacting consumer health; food safety; and brand credibility. The key motivation for food fraud is usually an economic or financial advantage. Economically motivated food fraud (EMA) is the illegal deception, deliberate and intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a food product, which m...

Seasonings like garlic, ginger, and scallion provide spicy and masking flavor or aroma in vegetables. However, the method or technique used for drying these spices can affect the flavor profile. Therefore, this review focuses on vegetable seasonings like ginger, garlic, and scallion, the characteristic flavor of fresh and dehydrated vegetable seaso...

Mycotoxin contamination in grains is a significant concern due to its adverse effects on human and animal health. Understanding the levels and patterns of mycotoxin contamination in different regions and storage conditions is crucial for developing effective control strategies. This study aimed to assess mycotoxin levels in stored and recently harv...

Mycotoxin contamination in grains is a significant concern due to its adverse effects on human and animal health. Understanding the levels and patterns of mycotoxin contamination in different regions and storage conditions is crucial for developing effective control strategies. This study aimed to assess mycotoxin levels in stored and recently harv...

Mycotoxin contamination in grains is a significant concern due to its adverse effects on human and animal health. Understanding the levels and patterns of mycotoxin contamination in different regions and storage conditions is crucial for developing effective control strategies. This study aimed to assess mycotoxin levels in stored and recently harv...

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and auton...

Background Food fraud describes deceptive acts that occur at all stages of the food supply chain for economic gain. The COVID-19 pandemic has had devasting impacts on individuals, institutions, and economies. Disruptions in supply chains and regulatory oversight have led to concerns about potential increases in food fraud-related incidents. In addi...

A review of up to 90 articles on the microorganisms associated with important artisanal or traditional beverages in Nigeria was carried out. This resulted in an overview of the prevalent microorganisms associated with soymilk, nono (fermented cow milk), tiger nut milk, yoghurt, kunu, zobo, palm wine and the local beers pito and brukutu. The bacteri...

Fermented foods are consumed by a very large population in Africa but the products have many drawbacks ranging from shelf life instability to contamination and toxicity. These foods therefore require an upgrade through improved fermentation processes. This work determined the phenotypic characteristics of the fermenting microorganisms and microbial...

The essential and unique features of traditional food fermentation processes in Nigeria were reviewed. Fermentation which has been an age-long biotecnological process is still relevant in the present dispensation. Nigeria has many varieties of fermented foods whose fermentation processes remain a household art. These involve both solid state and su...

Fresh palm wine samples were obtained from oil palm and raffia palm into sterile flasks. The samples were examined for yeasts properties and performance in wine making using grapes. The yeasts in the palm wine were characterized, identified, and screened for their sedimentation rate, ethanol tolerance, alcohol content, yeasts population, pH, total...

Tigernut tubers were processed in different ways to formulate two new products: product 1 -Orange Tigernut Beverage (OTB) and product 2 - Tigernut Drink (TD). OTB was formulated from a blend of Orange Juice (OJ) and Tiger Nut Milk (TM) by substitution at ratio (OJ:TM) 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100. TD was formulated by drying t...

Tigernut tubers were differently processed into six products: Fermented Tigernut Milk (FTM), Pasteurized Tigernut Milk (PTM), Ultra-high Temperature Tigernut Milk (UHTM), Sterilized Whole Tigernut Milk (SWTM), Unheated Tigernut Milk (UTM) and Sweetened Tigernut Milk (STM). The effect of these treatments on the sensory, chemical and microbiological...

Nigerian improved sorghum cultivars 'L538', 'YG5760', 'L1499', 'SSH1' and 'SSH3' were investigated for the effect of steeping conditions on their amylolytic development. The grains were steeped using 3 steep regimes SR 1, SR 2 and SR 3 which involved steeping and re-steeping in cold distilled and de-ionized water for 36, 45 and 54 h respectively. G...

Fresh tiger nut tubers were crushed and juice expressed, filtered, boiled and fermented (37°C, 18 h) with Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. The fermented and unfermented imitation milk samples were stored at ambient (32±2°C) and at refrigeration (4°C) temperatures for 14 days. Chemical, microbial and sensory analyses were car...

Sorghum grain varieties 'L181', 'L187','L538', and 'SK5912' were steeped with varying concentrations (0.1-0.6% w/v) of NaOH in distilled water for the first 12, 24, 36 and 48 h. Thereafter, the grains were steeped with distilled water. The total length of steep for each sample was 48 h. Moisture content of the steeped grains was determined. The gra...

Blends of soybean flour (SF) and cassava flour (CF) were prepared on a replacement basis (CF/SF, 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 30:70, 20:80 and 0:100). Functional properties of the blends were determined. Biscuits were produced from the blends and evaluated for their protein and fat contents, and physical and sensory properties....

Soybean (Glycine max) seed varieties, SAMSOY 1, SAMSOY 2 and TG X 536-02, were each processed into five flour batches by fermentation, germination, cooking, autoclaving and processing raw. The proximate minerals compositions and functional properties of the prepared flours were evaluated. Raw soyflour contained 45.3–46.8% protein, 18.0–19.6% fat, 3...

Flour blends [soyflour (SF): papaya pulp flour (PF) 100:0, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, 0:100] were prepared from soybean and papaya pulp flours. The blends were fortified with vitamin C. The chemical compositions and sensory characteristics of the soybean flour (SF), papaya pulp flour (PF) and their blends were determined. Storage stabilities of the most...