ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to establish whether Mursik, a Kenyan traditional fermented milk product, contained Exopolysaccharides (EPS) and EPS producing Lactic acid Bacteria (LAB). It also sought to establish the optimum conditions for their production in Mursik. Samples of Mursik were collected from 39 randomly selected homesteads in Njoro District, Nakuru County, Kenya, and transported to Egerton University for analysis. Their EPS levels were determined by isolating them and qu...
ABSTRACT Mycotoxin and Brucella abortus contamination of milk along the dairy value chain is of public health concern and contributes to food insecurity. Animal feeds that are contaminated with mycotoxin causing fungi pass the contaminationtion to the milk. Inhygienic handling of milk can lead to Brucella contamination of milk. This study aimed at determining the on-farm risk factors associated with Mycotoxins and B. abortus occurrence and their prevalence on smallholder farms at rural and p...
ABSTRACT Milk production in Kenya is dominated by smallholder dairy farmers who are faced with challenges on feeding dairy cows. This is generally due to inadequate and low quality feeds and high cost of inputs. Thus, utilization of inexpensive nutrient dense feed supplement such as liquid brewer’s yeast (LBY) is inevitable. However, LBY is rarely used due to its short shelf life and lack of technical information on effect on milk quality. This study was performed to investigate the approp...
ABSTRACT The milk marketed in Kenya has been reported to be of poor quality and does not meet national and international standards due to high bacterial load, high somatic cell count, adulteration and antibiotic residues. The study investigates the raw milk quality, adherence to hygienic code of practice and identifies the critical control points for improved raw milk quality in the smallholder supply chain. Compliance to hygienic code of practice was assessed using questionnaires. The facto...
ABSTRACT Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is bulky and perishable with up to 50% of losses in 3-5 months of storage. Losses can be reduced through processing into less bulky and more stable products. The aim of this study was to investigate morphological and biochemical factors which affect potato quality, effect of potato cultivars and fermentation on quality of French fries and crisps as well as starch characteristics. Cultivars used included vartieties like Gikungu, Kigega, Kinigi, Kirundo, ...
ABSTRACT Suusa is spontaneously fermented raw camel milk prepared by pastoral women and informally marketed in Kenya. Processors, traders and consumers of suusa rely on organoleptic testing for quality and safety along the suusa value chain. Handling practices in raw milk and suusa products potentially exposes the product to microbial contamination which is associated with reduced shelf life and risk of infections to consumers with milk borne and zoonotic diseases such as brucellosis and tub...
Traditional processed camel meat (Nyirinyiri) is a ready to eat meat product prepared traditionally from dehydrated camel meat that is deep fried in fat. The processed product is stored in the same fat and consumed little by little as required because of its long shelf life with desirable taste which pastoral households use in their diets, snack or sell for income. This study analyzed the biochemical, chemical and nutritional status of camel Nyirinyiri from production area in Isiolo Coun...
ABSTRACT Cassava (Manihot esculenta) grows well in Tropical and Sub-Tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is used as a food and raw material for many industrial applications, including food, feed and starch. Cassava has several varieties whose physico-chemical properties and functional properties of flour are hardly known. The aimed at characterizing physico-chemical and functional properties of cassava flour from different varieties harvested at different maturity stages and to determi...
ABSTRACT The abundance of indigenous leafy vegetables (ILVs) during rainy seasons and accompanying poor storage systems leads to high post-harvest losses (PHL). These gluts in the rainy seasons are usually followed by scarcity in the dry seasons. Currently some limited preservation is employed involving boiling of ILVs and open sun drying, a practice that is inappropriate and done under unhygienic conditions. To reduce the huge losses, a cheaper, hygienic and locally adaptable preservation m...
ABSTRACT Protein-energy malnutrition remains a huge problem for children in sub-Saharan Africa. Kenyan children are no exception. These children rely on cereal porridge such as finger millet (Eleusine coracana) for nutrient supply. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), a locally available nutritious legume, could be an excellent complement to lysine-deficient millet diets. Therefore, the present study aimed at innovatively improving the protein quality and sensory properties of the complementary food, ...
ABSTRACT Dairy losses due to spoilage microorganisms have remained high from previous studies in Kenya. Poor hygiene has been reported to be the main cause of milk contamination with these microorganisms. Antibiotic residues are also continually reported in Kenyan milk due to misuse of veterinary drugs in treating animals by unskilled personnel or farmers themselves. The aim of this study was to quantify milk losses due spoilage microorganisms and determine levels of antibiotic residues in ru...
ABSTRACT This research project was done to investigate the influence of different methods of coffee processing on quality of the final product. The processing methods studied were wet pulping, hand pulping and eco-pulping. These processing methods vary on their modes of pulping and mucilage removal. The work was carried out using two cultivars of Kenya arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) grown in Nyeri County near Mt. Kenya. The quality parameters determined in the study included; physic-chemica...
ABSTRACT In Kenya use of exotic dairy goats in breeding programmes for smallholder production systems has become popular, but information on the milk production and nutritional quality is scarce. This research project was done to investigate the milk yield and its nutritional composition of Kenya Alpine dairy goat, Capra aegagrus hircus, for value addition. The initial work constituted assessing the dairy goat feeding practices in the study areas of Mukurweini, Kieni East and Kieni West, whe...
ABSTRACT This study addresses the design and modification of a gasoline generator to use biogas as an alternative fuel. The biogas was produced from fresh cow dung using a 10m3 fixed dome biodigester and the produced biogas scrubbed to improve its energy content per unit volume. A 1.0 kW Tigmax air-cooled gasoline generator was used for the investigation. The modification involved the fabrication and mounting of a simple external mixing chamber on the air-duct of the carburetor. A comparativ...
ABSTRACT This research was carried out to assess the physico-chemical properties, storage stability and acceptability of cured grasscutter meat (Thyronomys swinderianus) products which were smoked and packaged with different plastic films (High Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene). Live grasscutter was slaughtered, dressed, cut-up and divided into three portions. One portion was treated with a solution of 5% salt; second portion was cured with a solution containing sodium nitrite, potassi...