Chemical, sensory and microbiological properties of food bars prepared from oil seed flours

Abstract

Suitable processing technology for the production of nutritious calorie food bars from indigenous oil seeds was studied and developed. Food bars were produced from blends of quantities of peanut cake, soybean flour and sesame seeds as the main base. Other ingredients were sorghum flour as carbohydrate base, while carrot and coconut shreds served as fruit base. These were thoroughly mixed and moistened with honey, and were added to a mixture of boiling caramel and soy lecithin. Sensory attributes of sugar caramel, proximate and chemical composition, metabolizable energy, textural properties and microbiological qualities of the food bars produced were determined. There was no significant difference in the colour and hardness for sugar caramel produced at 150-180⁰C but the taste was significantly different 180^oC. The moisture content of food bars ranged from 4.20-4.43%, protein 18.06-19.62g, fat 21.23-22.56g, crude fibre 4.55-4.98g, ash 2.81-3.53g and carbohydrate 45.11-48.85g, respectively. The average chemical composition of bars (g/100g) showed that 33.80% of protein, 35.99% of carbohydrate, 12.47% of fibre and 20.89% of energy (based on 2200kCal of energy/day) were obtained for an adult woman RDA. The average component energies from protein, fat, carbohydrate contents and added sugar were 16.48%, 42.80%, 46% and 17.41%, respectively. The textural property showed increases directly with increasing sugar level (18-22%). The highest deflection (2.38 ± 0.724mm) was recorded for the bar produced at 20% sugar level, while the least (1.21 ± 0.184mm) was recorded for the bar produced at 18%. Salmonella spp., staphylococcus spp. and fungi were not detected in all the calorie bar samples analyzed.

Keywords: Food bar, processing technology, proximate, textural properties, microbiological qualities