Effect of Fermentation Time on the Quality Characteristic of Cassava Flour
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a tuberous root crop grown in the tropics between latitudes 30°N and 30°S, with vegetative propagation at a low cost. It is from South America and belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family (Nhassico et al., 2008). The root is drought resistant and can grow in a variety of soils and seasons (Taiwo, 2006).
Cassava is a major staple food in the tropical and subtropical regions, feeding a population of over 500 million people in Africa, Latin America, and Asia (Opara, 1999; Montagnac et al., 2009). The root, which is the main edible part of the crop, is high in carbohydrates, with a higher starch content (86.49 2.68 percent) than other root and tuber crops such as yam (10.7 1.1 percent), sweet potato (69.15 5.85 percent), and taro (11.2 1.26 percent) (Lebot et al., 2009).
It is, however, low in protein, fat, fiber, and some vitamins and minerals (Charles et al., 2005). Cassava root utilization as a food source and as an industrial raw material is limited due to rapid postharvest deterioration that begins within two days of harvest (Sánchez et al., 2006; Opara, 2009; Iyer et al., 2010).
This situation reduces the root’s shelf-life, resulting in postharvest loss, low product yield, and poor market quality of fresh root and minimally processed cassava food products such as cassava flour and flour (Van Oirschot et al., 2000).
Fresh cassava root contains a toxic compound (hydrogen cyanide), which is harmful to human consumption and appears to be detrimental to cassava use in food industries (Iglesias et al., 2002). However, studies have shown that processing techniques such as peeling, fermentation, soaking, and drying can detoxify and reduce cyanide content, improve palatability, and increase the value of the root (Cardoso et al., 2005; Burns et al., 2012).
Converting cassava root into food and raw materials like fufu, cassava flour, tapioca flour, chips, and pellets can increase shelf life, facilitate trade, and promote industrial use (Taiwo, 2006; Fadeyibi, 2012).
Globally, there is a noticeable increase in cereal demand and price, particularly wheat, which influences the price of cereal-based products (FAO, 2013).
The rising cost of importing wheat flour for food in many developing countries, such as Nigeria, has fueled the need for research to develop suitable flour from local agricultural materials such as cassava that is not only cheaper but also has suitable quality attributes and functional properties. Furthermore, wheat flour contains gluten, which causes celiac disease in people who are gluten intolerant (Briani et al., 2008).
According to research, a gluten-free diet is an effective treatment for celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and wheat allergies (Gaesser &Angadi, 2012; Alvarez &Boye, 2014). Non-wheat gluten-free flour made from root and tuber
crops such as sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), cassava (Manihot esculenta), potato (Solamum tuberosum), yam (Dioscoreaspp), and cocoyam (Xanthosomasagitifolium) has the potential to alleviate the double burden of rising cereal prices and gluten intolerance
(Aryee et al., 2006; Ammar et al., 2009; Sanful& Darko, 2010). In particular, the use of gluten-free flour derived from high-quality cassava root as a composite flour in high-demand foods such as bread has grown in popularity in many developing countries (Eddy et al., 2007).
High-quality cassava flour is a white or creamy, unfermented, gluten-free flour made from cassava root that is used in the food industry to make pasta and confectionery (Taiwo, 2006; Shittu et al., 2008). When wheat was substituted by up to 20% in bread, Eddy et al. (2007) discovered that cassava flour added no foreign odor or taste to the product formed, and no significant changes in other bread characteristics were observed.
Cassava flour’s physicochemical properties provide the benefit of good functionality as a raw material for the manufacture of various food products. For example, cassava flour’s high starch content contributes to the crispy texture of processed products (Falade&Akingbala, 2010), whereas its low fat content is an excellent attribute for controlling rancidity and enhancing product shelf-life stability (Charles et al., 2005; Eleazu et al., 2011).
To ensure the quality, safety, and storage stability of flour and other materials used in the manufacture of food products, they must be properly packaged and stored prior to use. To realize the full potential of cassava flour in food processing, either alone or in combination with other raw materials such as wheat flour, it is necessary to understand the effects of package types and storage conditions on cassava flour quality and shelf-life stability.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Cassava flour production is still done at the local level, mostly by local women in order to improve household food security (Fapojuwe, 2008), and Nweke et al.
Cassava flour production remains labor-intensive, according to (2002). Large-scale cassava flour production in Nigeria failed, most likely due to a lack of information on processing variables that promote cassava detoxification and fermentation to produce unique flavor characteristics associated with cassava flour (Achinewu and Owuamanam, 2001; Nweke et al., 2002).
Traditional cassava fermentation processing is centered on reducing cyanide in the final product through extended fermentation periods of up to 7 days as an important strategy for product safety (Sanni, 2005). However, traditionally processed cassava flour contains varying levels of residual cyanide due to local processors’ tendency to shorten fermentation times in order to meet rising market demand (Nweke et al., 2002).
It’s difficult to understand how cassava and cassava products like cassava flour can be promoted without taking into account the fact that they contain cyanogens (linamarin), which release poisonous cyanide in the body. Consumption of cassava and its products containing cyanide can result in acute intoxication, with symptoms including dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhea, and, in extreme cases, death (Oluwole et al., 2003).
Because the lethal dose is proportional to body weight, children are more vulnerable to poisoning than adults. In areas where iodine deficiency causes goiter and cretinism, cyanide intake from cassava aggravates these conditions (Delangeet al., 1994).
Tropical ataxic neuropathy (TAN) is a disease that occurs in older people who have consumed a monotonous cassava diet for years in West Africa, particularly Nigeria. TAN is a progressive disease that causes unsteady walking, loss of sensation in the hands, loss of vision, deafness, and weakness (Dulceret al., 2008).
Until recently, long-term cyanogenic intake was thought to be linked to the occurrence of TAN, but new research suggests that the situation may be more complicated. Furthermore, when cassava and its products are consumed, the majority of the ingested cyanide is converted into thiocyanate, a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme rhodanese,
which uses up a portion of the pool of S-containing essential amino acids, methionine and cystein (Cardoso et al., 2004). A lack of this S-containing amino acid would limit protein synthesis and could cause stunting in growing children, as discovered in a study of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Dulceret al ., 2008).
As a result, the goal of this work is to identify new methods of processing and technology for reducing human cyanide intake.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
The primary goal of this study is to investigate the effect of fermentation time on the quality characteristics of cassava flour.
The following are the specific goals of this research project:
To produce cassava flour under temperature, relative humidity, and time constraints.
To track the time it takes for cyanogenic compounds and cyanide to break down and be removed from the fermentation.
To ascertain the final products’ proximate composition, functional, and pasting properties.
To ascertain the sensory properties of the products.
JUSTIFICATION (1.4)
There is a need to improve local cassava flour processing methods as well as industrialization, particularly by reducing fermentation time and eliminating cyanide while maintaining cassava flour quality.
The variability in the environment and fermentation conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and fermentation duration) during cassava mash fermentation was studied because it affects the quality characteristics of cassava flour and the reduction of cyanide.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research project included collecting samples, processing them, and reporting on the findings (fermenting the cassava mash at different combined fermentation variables; temperature, relative humidity and time). pH, TTA, and HCN levels were determined in the samples.
Following that, the samples were toasted to produce the final product (cassava flour), which was then tested for proximate, chemical, functional, pasting, and sensory properties.
Effect of Fermentation Time on the Quality Characteristic of Cassava Flour
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