Edward G. Karuri

Involving Rural Kenyan Women in the Development of Nutritionally Improved Weaning Foods: Nutribusiness Strategy

Abstract This paper describes a participatory process employed by three collaborating universities to engage rural Kenyan women, who are members of organized womens groups, in the development of recipes for culturally appropriate, nutritionally desirable weaning foods. These foods will be processed on a small commercial scale in two rural locations, Bomet and Murang’a, using ingredients grown by the women on their “shambas” (garden plots). The weaning foods will be marketed as dry mixes in urbanized communities where women do not engage in agriculture. The processing and marketing will be accomplished through the mechanism of a nutribusiness cooperative run by the women in each of the districts. The phases in the weaning food development process include (1) a community assessment, (2) the collection and analysis of traditional weaning recipes, (3) the provision of feedback to the communities, (4) district-level product development workshops, (5) nutritional analysis and computer optimization of the products (Mixed Porridge and BASCOT), and (6) community workshops to prepare and evaluate the optimized products. Through their involvement with this project, women acquire nutrition knowledge and skills and have the opportunity to generate income for themselves and their households.

Changes in ascorbic acid, beta‐carotene and sensory properties in Sundried and stored Amaranthus hybridus vegetables

Amaranthus hybridus was grown as a leafy vegetable in Dar‐Es‐Salaam, Tanzania. Freshly harvested leaves were analyzed for moisture content, beta‐carotene and reduced ascorbic acid. The leaves from the four sites were bulked, blanched and sundried with shade provision drier. The dried samples were stored in polythene bags at 22°C, 28°C and room temperature (30°C to 32°C). At the beginning and thereafter every month during storage, the vegetables were analyzed for beta‐carotene and ascorbic acid and subjected to sensory evaluation in comparison with fresh cooked leaves. Sundrying of the amaranth leaves resulted in significant reductions (P < 0.05) in the levels of ascorbic acid and beta‐carotene, of 87.4% and 16.3% respectively. After storage of the dried vegetables for three months, the retention at 22 ° C, 28 ° C and room temperature of ascorbic acid and beta‐carotene were 42, 40 and 36 mg/100g and 32.4, 29.5 and 27.4 mg/100 g dwb respectively. Sensoric quality evaluation of amaranth leaves showed that significant differences (P < 0.05) existed in appearance and colour, flavour, texture and overall acceptability, although the dried vegetables were still acceptable in all the sensory characteristics tested. The study established that the vegetables could be dried to produce an acceptable product which maintained its eating quality for up to three months in storage.

Nutrient and antinutrient in contents of raw and cooked Amaranthus hybridus

Amaranthus hybridus was grown as a leafy vegetables in four sites in Dar‐Es‐Salaam, Tanzania. Freshly harvested leaves from each of the growing sites were analyzed for proximate composition of beta‐carotene, reduced ascorbic acid, minerals iron, calcium, phosphorous and the antinutrients oxalates and nitrates. The leaves from the four sites were bulked and cooked by boiling in distilled water in the ratio vegetable to water of 1:4 then drained. The drained vegetables were analyzed for beta‐carotene, reduced ascorbic acid, iron, calcium, phosphorus, oxalate and nitrate. Results indicated that fresh amaranth vegetables from the four sites had comparable high moisture contents ranging between 85.3% to 86.5%, protein of between 28.2% to 31.6%. The level of minerals calcium, iron and phosphorus ranged between 2062 mg/100 g and 2263 mg/100 g, 108 mg/100 g and 128 mg/100 g and 500 mg/100 g and 553 mg/100 g respectively on dry weight basis. The levels of beta‐carotene of between 25.2 mg/100 g to 37.3 mg/100 g, ascorbic acid of between 455 mg/100 g to 535 mg/100 g. Nitrates and oxalates were at levels of between 501 mg/100 g to 560 mg/100 g and 3383 mg/100 g to 4333 mg/100 g respectively on dry matter basis. On cooking, the levels of beta‐carotene did not change significantly but there were significant reductions (P < 0.05) in the levels of ascorbic acid of up to 50.4%, and 41.4% for phosphorus, while the total nitrate was reduced by 39.2%, and the oxalate by 40.2%. The study established that Amaranthus hybridus leaves grown in four sites of Dar‐Es‐Salaam were good sources of nutrients, had low nitrates levels but high oxalate contents. Furthermore the cooking losses of the nutrients were not excessive, while the antinutrients were substantially reduced.

Application of Probabilistic Modeling to Quantify the Reduction Levels of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk Attributable to Chronic Aflatoxins Exposure

ABSTRACT Epidemiological studies show a definite connection between areas of high aflatoxin content and a high occurrence of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatitis B virus in individuals further increases the risk of HCC. The two risk factors are prevalent in rural Kenya and continuously predispose the rural populations to HCC. A quantitative cancer risk assessment therefore quantified the levels at which potential pre- and postharvest interventions reduce the HCC risk attributable to consumption of contaminated maize and groundnuts. The assessment applied a probabilistic model to derive probability distributions of HCC cases and percentage reductions levels of the risk from secondary data. Contaminated maize and groundnuts contributed to 1,847 ± 514 and 158 ± 52 HCC cases per annum, respectively. The total contribution of both foods to the risk was additive as it resulted in 2,000 ± 518 cases per annum. Consumption and contamination levels contributed significantly to the risk whereby lower age groups were most affected. Nonetheless, pre- and postharvest interventions might reduce the risk by 23.0–83.4% and 4.8–95.1%, respectively. Therefore, chronic exposure to aflatoxins increases the HCC risk in rural Kenya, but a significant reduction of the risk can be achieved by applying specific pre- and postharvest interventions.

Adaptation and mitigation options to manage aflatoxin contamination in food with a climate change perspective

Understanding the impact of climate change remains vital for food safety and public health. Of particular importance is the influence of climatic conditions on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and production of their toxins. Nevertheless, little is known about the actual impact of climate change on the issue. Setting up of relevant measures to manage the impact has therefore become a daunting task especially in developing nations. Therefore, this study aimed at providing adaptation and mitigation options to manage this risk with a special focus on Kenya where cases of aflatoxicosis have been recurrent. We used a systematic literature review of review and research articles, with limited searching but systematic screening to explore available qualitative and quantitative data. Projections from the data, showed that on average, a 58.9% increase of aflatoxin contamination in the Central and Western parts and a decrease of 44.6% in the Eastern and Southern parts is expected but with several possible scenarios....

Microbial Contamination Level Profiles Attributed to Contamination of Beef Carcasses, Personnel, and Equipment: Case of Small and Medium Enterprise Slaughterhouses

The microbial contamination level profiles (MCLPs) attributed to contamination of beef carcasses, personnel, and equipment in five Kenyan small and medium enterprise slaughterhouses were determined. Aerobic plate counts, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus, and Salmonella were used to determine contamination at four different slaughter stages, namely, dehiding, evisceration, splitting, and dispatch. Microbiological criteria of the four microorganisms were used to score contamination levels (CLs) as poor (0), poor to average (1), average (2), or good (3). MCLPs were further assigned to carcasses, personnel, and equipment at each stage by summing up the CL scores. The CL score attributed to aerobic plate count contamination was 2 or 3 for carcasses but 0 for personnel and equipment in almost all slaughterhouses. A score of 0 on carcasses was mostly attributed to Enterobacteriaceae at evisceration and to Salmonella at dehiding and evisceration. In addition, a score of 0 was mostly attributed to Staphylococcus contamination of personnel at dehiding. A score of 3 was attributed mostly to Enterobacteriaceae on hands at splitting, whereas a score of 2 was mostly attributed to the clothes at dehiding and evisceration. A CL score of 3 was mostly attributed to Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella contamination of equipment at dehiding and splitting, respectively. Although CLs attributed to contamination of carcasses, personnel, and equipment ranged from 0 to 3, the maximum MCLP score of 9 was only attained in carcasses from two slaughterhouses at dehiding and from one slaughterhouse at dispatch. There is, therefore, a lot of room for small and medium enterprise slaughterhouses to improve their food safety objectives by improving food safety management systems at the points characterized by low CL scores.

Interaction among Nutritive, Textural, and Sensory Properties of Rabbit Sausages

The nutritive, textural, and sensory properties of commercial fresh rabbit sausages and their interactions were evaluated. The mean contents of moisture, protein, fat, ash, and carbohydrate were 43.89 ± 1.66%, 9.82 ± 2.71%, 22.37 ± 1.7%, 2.99 ± 0.10%, and 20.94 ± 3.05%, respectively. Conversely, the mean values of hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and chewiness were 103.36 ± 3.48 N, −4.54 ± 1.58 N s, 3.38 ± 0.67 mm, 0.15 ± 0.03, 16.07 ± 3.20 N, and 55.73 ± 20.44 N mm, respectively. The moisture and protein contents showed significant negative correlation while three remaining nutritive properties showed significant positive correlation with textural properties ( for all parameters). The score for nonparametric ranking of sensory properties like appearance/colour, flavour, juiciness, and tenderness ranged from 28.28 to 38.78, 29.41 to 35.91, 30.06 to 37.38, 26.75 to 40.69, and 29.03 to 36.75, respectively. In conclusion, rabbit sausages formulated with low quantities of moisture and protein result in hard sausages with low acceptability by sensory panellist. To improve the sausages, it is recommended that processors develop an optimal formulation.

Animal Welfare Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Stockpersons in Kenya

ABSTRACT The stockpersons handling the transportation of animals between farms and slaughterhouses are rarely assessed for their animal welfare knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Thus, this investigation presents a unique opportunity to study these interactions. Herein, a cross-sectional survey was carried out among 266 stockpersons in 10 Kenyan livestock markets to determine their animal welfare KAP. The survey questionnaire was based on Kenya’s Regulations for Animal Transport (Act No: CAP. 360-L.N. 119/1984). Mean percentage scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practices were 78.0 ± 14.1, 75.6 ± 16.0, and 64.5 ± 17.6, respectively. From the responses to statements related to animal husbandry, practices of the housing of unfamiliar groups of animals, cooperation with other stakeholders, and stress caused to animals during handling, it was found that stockpersons’ animal welfare KAP was inadequate. Women aged > 50 years or having more than 10 years of experience had significantly higher levels of animal welfare KAP (p < 0.05). In conclusion, although Kenyan stockpersons may score adequately on the parameters of animal welfare knowledge and attitudes, their followed practices are poor, which may possibly be influenced by gender, age, or level of experience.

Application of Response Surface Methodology to Study the Effects of Brisket Fat, Soy Protein Isolate, and Cornstarch on Nutritional and Textural Properties of Rabbit Sausages

The effects of brisket fat, soy protein isolate, and cornstarch on chemical and textural properties of rabbit sausages were studied using surface response methodology. Sausage samples were prepared using a five-level three-variable Central Composite Rotatable Design with 16 combinations, including two replicates of the center point, carried out in random order. The level of brisket fat (BF), soy protein isolate (SPI), and cornstarch (CS) in the sausage formulation ranged within 8.3–16.7%, 0.7–2.3%, and 1.3–4.7%, respectively. Increasing BF decreased moisture and ash contents but increased protein and fat contents of the sausages (p < 0.05). Increasing SPI increased moisture content but decreased ash and carbohydrate contents of the sausages (p < 0.05). Increasing CS increased carbohydrate content (p < 0.05). Increasing BF increased hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and chewiness but decreased springiness (p < 0.05). SPI addition increased springiness but decreased adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and chewiness (p < 0.05). In conclusion, varying the levels of BF and SPI had a more significant effect on chemical and textural properties of rabbit sausages than CS.

Effect of breed and feeding strategy on the eating quality of Kenyan beef

In Kenya, most of the livestock are reared on grass using extensive pastoral systems. Nevertheless, intensive feed-lot systems to finish beef cattle have become popular among local producers. The two systems are likely to have a different impact on the eating quality of beef, because quality is determined by the combined effects of breed, nutrition and management. The effect of free-range and semi-feed lot feeding strategies on the eating quality of beef from Zebu and Sahiwal breeds was assessed. A 2 x 2 between subjects factorial design was used (two breeds fed using two feeding strategies). From each single breed and feeding strategy combination, seven cattle were selected after three months of feeding. The cattle were slaughtered and their rump steaks sampled. The samples were frozen for 24 h then thawed for 4 h prior to analysis. The steaks’ pH was measured after cooking. They were then subjected to Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), ‘Warner-Bratzler’ Shear (WBS) tests, and organoleptic evaluations. The pH did not differ significantly with feeding strategy or breed ( P ≥0.05). The result from TPA and WBS revealed that semi feed-lot Sahiwal beef was tender than free-range Sahiwal beef ( P <0.05). On the other hand, there was no difference in tenderness between feed-lot and free-range Zebu beef ( P ≥0.05). An analysis between the breeds showed that feed-lot Sahiwal beef was tender than feed-lot Zebu beef ( P <0.05), but there was no difference in tenderness between beef from free-range Sahiwal and free-range Zebu ( P ≥0.05). In the sensory analysis, there was a significant difference for each of the sensory parameters ( P <0.05, each). Steaks from semi-feed lot Sahiwal were preferred to the other beef steaks. In conclusion, a semi-feed lot feeding strategy has the potential to improve the eating quality of beef from Sahiwal breed. Nevertheless, the improvement in the eating quality observed with Zebu breed, although not statistically significant, gives an opportunity for value chain actors to explore other management systems that can be combined with those assessed in this study to improve eating quality. Keywords: Beef, rump steak, eating quality, Sahiwal, Zebu, feed lot, pastoral, Kenya