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The fruit and vegetable industry remains one of Ghana’s most promising agricultural sectors mainly because of heightened awareness of the health benefits associated with their consumption. However, food safety is of ultimate concern due to the association of foodborne hazards resulting in escalation of foodborne illness. This report is a review of key foodborne hazards in Ghana’s horticultural value chain. The study identified the risk factors and hazards that contaminate fruits and vege...

Edible mushrooms commonly found in forest reserves are important for food security but they are underutilized in Ghana. The Atewa forest reserve in the Eastern Region and Bia Biosphere in the Western Region are among the largest forest reserves in Ghana. However, human activities including illegal mining activities pose a threat to the existence of the rich mushroom diversity within these forests. The objective of this study, therefore, was to collect, characterize and domesticate mushrooms f...

Organic fertilizer commercialization may present a great opportunity to help deal with the issue of solid waste management and help improve the declining soil problems in many developing countries. Ghana’s solid waste is predominantly organic, which is suitable for organic fertilizer production. Tis paper seeks to establish relationship between organic fertilizer usage and crop farm performance and assess its commercialization potential. The study employed a farmer-survey and key informant in...

Over 70% of plantain produced in Ghana is traded along the fresh market which is a hotspot for postharvest loss. This study sought to assess the economic impact of plantain ripening among traders in three satellite markets of Accra. Using the interview technique, primary data was obtained from320 respondents within 3 satellite markets. Ripening was found to increase the market value of plantain whereas over-ripening reduced the market value of plantain. Money to the tune of over two million ...

This study sought to determine the influence of ripening stages and thermal treatment on the quality charac teristics of the overripe plantain puree. The plantain was stored during ripening stages (7, 8, 9, and 10) to obtain the overripe plantain; steam without peel and steamed with the peel to develop puree. Microbial count, phys icochemical properties, and sensory evaluation of developed purees were evaluated. The results showed that puree from overripe plantain at ripening stage 8 had ...

Wagashie, a West African traditional cottage cheese is a dairy product commonly consumed in Ghana due to its nutritional quality. Nonetheless, it can serve as a medium for the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms as producers and retailers do not employ adequate food hygiene measures in its handling. Additionally, despite its widespread consumption, there is little or no information about the sensory properties of traditional wagashie. This study was carried out to ascertain ...

Detection of the internal damage and insect infestation on intact mango fruit during harvesting, storage, and exportation is particularly challenging. Visual comparison of infestation by spot detection has proven unreliable in determining the presence of insects in seeds and the extent of spoilage in the fruit. The study aimed toward identifying a non-destructive, rapid, and correct method for detecting spoilage in mango seeds. Ninety-eight (98) mature green mango fruits were harvested from a...

The aim of this study was to determine the optimum ingredient formulation for an instant rice-based cereal enriched with tigernut and soybean flours. An extreme vertices design involving three (3) components (brown rice flour, tigernut flour and soybean flour) was used. A slurry of the three (3) was dried on a single drum dryer at 120 °C and 5 rpm. Mixture regression modeling was used to assess the impact of each component on the functional quality and sensory attributes properties of the dru...

Four mango fruit varieties of average slice thickness 0.6 cm and slice area 10 cm 2 were dried using a mechanical dryer at variedtemperatures, 55°C, 65°C, and 75°C. In general, the moisture content (MC) for all samples analyzed decreased with increasingdrying time. Palmer and Haden varieties recorded the lowest MCs of 8.7% (w.b.) and 9.3% (w.b.), respectively, when dried for14 h at 65°C. Palmer variety with the highest initial MC of 87.2% (w.b.) recorded a low final MC of 8.7% (w.b.) when drie...

The impact of different drying techniques on the properties of yellow cassava flour and its food application was investigated in this study. Flour was made from three cultivars of yellow cassava by solar-, hot air oven-, or drum- drying. Their functionality was determined by standard methods, and their digestibility was evaluated in vitro. The flours were used in the preparation of fufu, which was evaluated by sensorial and instrumental methods. The digestibility of drum-dried flours was high...

β-Carotene is an important plant pigment with high vitamin A activity. The kinetics of β-carotene degradation and moisture sorption behavior of yellow cassava flour produced by different drying techniques was investigated during storage. The βcarotene degradation kinetics were described using a first-order kinetic model, while the moisture adsorption data was fitted to five mathematical equations using nonlinear regression. During storage, the reaction rate constant for β-carotene degradati...

The objective of this study was to assess consumer behaviour towards tilapia and tilapia products and provide information linking production with consumption patterns and preferences as well as to predict factors that influence consumer preference, purchase behaviour, and willingness to patronize tilapia fillets using classification and regression trees. A total of 960 responses were obtained using convenient sampling. The findings of this survey indicate that tilapia is eaten mainly bec...

Background: Fermentation efficiency of thermophiles of Bacillus licheniformis YYC4 and Geobacillus stearothermophilus A75, and mesophilic Bacillus subtilis 10 160 on soybean meal (SBM), was evaluated by examining the nutritional and protein structural changes. Results: SBM fermentation by B. licheniformis YYC4, B. subtilis 10 160 and G. stearothemophilus A75 increased significantly the crude and soluble protein from 442.4 to 524.8, 516.1 and 499.9 g kg-1 , and from 53.9 to 203.3, 291.3 and...

The influence of freeze and convection (at 40 and 50 °C) drying on the physical, functional, and rheological attributes of sunflower protein (SP) and its hydrolysate (SPH) was investigated. Compared with convectively-dried samples, the lightness, turbidity, bulk density, and particle size values of the freeze-dried SP and SPH were substantially higher, but the browning index was lower (p < 0.05). Additionally, freeze-dried samples exhibited good solubility and foaming characteristics, whereas...

Due to the recent increase in the human population and the associated shortage of protein resources, it is necessary to find new, sustainable, and natural protein resources from invertebrates (such as insects) and underutilized plants. In most cases, compared to plants (e.g., grains and legumes) and animals (e.g., fish, beef, chicken, lamb, and pork), insect proteins are high in quality in terms of their nutritional value, total protein content, and essential amino acid composition. This revi...

Conventional fermentation of rapeseed meal has disadvantages such as sterilization requirement, high energy consumption and low efficiency, as well as poor action of single bacteria. To overcome these drawbacks, mixed-strain fermentation of unsterilized rapeseed meal was investigated. Mixed-fermentation of unsterilized rapeseed meal (ratio of solid–liquid 1:1.2 g/mL) using Bacillus subtilis, Pediococcus acidilactici and Candida tropicalis (at 40 C, for 3 days, with inoculation amount of...

The effect of low-intensity sonication treatment on cell growth, ε-polylysine (ε-PL) yield and its biological mechanism were investigated, using a 3-L-jar fermenter coupled with an in situ ultrasonic slot with a Streptomyces albulus strain SAR 14-116. Under ultrasonic conditions (28 kHz, 0.37 W cm-2, 60 min), a high biomass of SAR 14-116 and concentration of ε-PL were realized (i.e., they increased by 14.92% and 28.45%, respectively) when compared with a control. Besides this, ultrasonication...

Beef meatball (BM) is a traditional delicious snack with rich nutrition and unique flavor, making it a preferred choice for most consumers. However, the quality of BM is easily affected by many factors, such as the processing, storage, and preservation, which limit the competitive positioning with respect to its market. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to each step during the processing of BMs. Based on previous studies, this systematic review focuses on the effect of key processin...