Solomon Shibairo’s research while affiliated with Kibabii University and other places

Cassava is an important food crop grown for its roots to supply daily needed calories to households in the cassava growing communities including coastal Kenya. The region contributes up to 30 % of the national cassava production though it remains food insecure with a high prevalence of malnutrition. Cassava roots are deficient in most nutrients except carbohydrates while the leaves are rich in a range of nutrients including protein but are moderately consumed as vegetables. The study sought to establish the most acceptable cassava root-leaf blend/s with improved nutrients’ content. This involved formulation of blends of cassava flakes through mixing roots and leaves in varying levels ranging from 0 % to 50 % that led to 18 different blends, with most accepted being 20%. Fermented and unfermented flakes were developed. A total of 18 formulations were developed before consumer acceptability and nutritional content were determined in the most preferred blends. The results showed cassava root-leaf flakes were best accepted when fermented root material is blended with 20% leaf component. Percent leaf content above 40% was unacceptable as such blends exuded poor smell. A calculation from the nutrients contained in blend 100 5 cassava roots against the blend that contained leaf material showed that the nutritional value showed that cassava root-leaf flakes have vitamins A and C improved by 353% and 53%, minerals- iron and zinc by 5.6% and 85% respectively and protein by 430% when compared with flakes processed from 100% cassava root. It is recommended that more studies be carried out to determine the bioavailability and nutritional effect of consumption of the flakes on children and pregnant women.

Processing and value addition is necessary for fresh agricultural commodities in order to reduce perishability and prolong shelf-life. Shelf life is enhanced with proper packaging because packaging materials influence storage period, preserve nutrients and sensory qualities. This paper objectively determined the effects of packaging materials on nutrients quality of cassava flakes. The methodology of the work involved the use of blends of cassava flakes packaged in Kraft, insulated polythene and plastic, and stored in an incubator at 550C and 75 % relative humidity for 5 days. Three blends of cassava flakes identified by panelists as the most preferred (20 % leaf, 100 % fresh root, 100 % fermented roots were developed and studied on accelerated shelf life trial. Storage period and packaging material were determined. The results showed moisture content to be significantly influenced by packaging material whereby it increased over the storage period, across the blends, with highest levels (10.75-%) registered in kraft material on day 3. After day 3 all nutrients showed a drastic decreasing trend with the most affected being protein that dropped from; 22.94 mg / 100g to 8 mg / 100g in the blend containing 20 % leaf in and 6.65 mg / 100g to 2. 8 in the blend of 100 % fresh root packaged in kraft materials. There was Paper insulated polythene (gunny) was shown to contain highest nutrients’ levels by day 5 with; protein at 27.68 mg /100g vitamins A (576.85 mg/100 kg), Zinc (1.17 mg /100 g), iron 3.69 mg /100g), fibre 6.12 mg /100g. Fat was highest at 9.71 mg/100g in the plastic material. The study therefore concluded that insulated polythene is the best packaging material for cassava flakes and the product’s shelf life is up to 3 months.

Sweetpotato (Ipomea batatas) is a versatile crop that serves the roles of food and nutrition security, cash crop in both raw and processed forms. It is a source of livestock feed and has great potential as a raw material for industrial processing. The potential of sweetpotato has been greatly underexploited by the fact that it has been regarded as a poor man’s food and is mainly grown under marginal conditions for subsistence by most producers, who are rural small-scale farmers in developing countries, such as Kenya and Uganda. Losses in the highly perishable root crop and its leaves are exacerbated by lack of appropriate postharvest knowledge, technologies and facilities. Inadequate information on available cultivars also limits the maximum utilization of the crop and leaves. The current review examines production potential, postharvest handling practices, marketing, and physicochemical and nutritional properties of sweetpotatoes.

Several post-harvest problems have, however, limited effective commercialization of the crop. Fresh cassava roots have a very short shelf-life of less than 72 hours after harvest and post-harvest losses of more than 23% for freshly harvested roots have been reported. Consequently cassava roots need to be processed to reduce these losses. The crop is used in diverse forms such as fresh root boiled and eaten as a snack or roots prepared into crisps or dried chips. Dried cassava chips are milled into flour to make stiff porridge known as ugali and common porridge. The end products tend to be of low quality thus creating a need for improved processing into more stable products such as fermented and non-fermented flours, high quality sun dried chips, starches and culinary products 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Processing does not only improve shelf life but also reduces bulkiness, diversify products and enhance acceptability and marketability. The roots also have high starch content but deficient in other essential nutrients⁹, while containing varying amounts of cyanide which is toxic to both humans and animals. Processing eliminates or reduces cyanogenic compounds to a safe level set by World Health Organization (WHO) at 10ppm¹⁰.