Physico-chemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Infant Porridges Produced from Infant Flours Containing Millet and Sorghum Malt

Abstract

Women generally use traditional cereal flour porridges for weaning children, which are products rich in starch but low in protein. These porridges with a heavy, viscous, indigestible consistency are difficult for the child to digest, due to the starch which swells during cooking. To do this, this study was conducted with the aim of formulating twelve porridges of good nutritional value with the incorporation of millet and sorghum malt flours from four infant flours in order to increase the energy density of the porridges. The analysis of the physico-chemical, nutritional and microbiological parameters of the porridges was carried out using standard methods. From the results, it emerged that the best malt flour incorporation rates were 0.125% for 48h millet malt flour and 0.2% for 48h red sorghum malt flour with a viscosity of porridges between 90 and 120 mm/30s. The macronutrient parameters (Carbohydrates: 14,91±0,88% - 34,48±0,40 %/DM; Proteins: 34,59±0,54% - 44,90±0,84 %/DM, Fat: 26,34±0,18% - 39,50±0,57 %/DM) and the energy density (89.41±0.81kcal/100g to 124.54±0.57kcal/100g) were in accordance with the standards for processed cereal-based foods intended for infants and young children. The results of the total amino acids profile showed that Lysine presented the best content (0.166 to 0.285 mg/100g). For all the samples, the best values of macronutrient and energy density values were obtained with millet malt which presented a high diastatic power. It emerged from the microbiology results that all of the samples presented quite satisfactory levels of coliforms (Salmonella, yeasts and molds in accordance with the standards for processed cereal-based foods intended for infants and young children. At the end of the study, the results obtained showed that the use of millet and sorghum malts could be an alternative to improve the nutritional quality and increase the energy density of infant porridge.