An Assessment of the Quality and Storage Stability of Street-Vended Plantain Chips in Ota, Ogun State

Abstract

Street-vended plantain chips may present some health risks to consumers due to improper handling, packaging and storage. This research was carried out to determine the quality of street-vended plantain chips in Ota, Ogun State. The proximate and microbiological properties of plantain chips purchased from selected locations were assessed and compared with the laboratory prepared chips which served as control. The protein, fat, ash and carbohydrate content of the samples decreased as storage time increased with sample obtained from supermarket having the highest protein (6.90%) and fat (8.20%) contents. The control sample had the least moisture content. The total microbial counts increased during storage for all samples, with the control having the least total fungal (1.5 x 10²cfu/g) and total bacteria counts (2.0 x 10¹cfu/g).

Keywords: Assessment, proximate, microbiological characteristics, storage stability, plantain chips