Physico‐nutritional characterization of composite cassava and orange‐fleshed sweet potato flours and sensory evaluation of “fufu” prepared from the flour blends

Abstract

The orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is being promoted for consumption as a public health tool to combat vitamin A deficiency diseases in Africa. As a staple diet in many households in West Africa, “fufu” aptly lends itself to fortification with OFSP for the delivery of essential micronutrients for health improvement. In this study, the nutritional and functional characteristics of composite cassava/OFSP flours for preparation into "fufu" were examined, and the cooked food was subjected to sensory evaluation. OFSP enriched the nutritional composition as its substitution levels for cassava increased. However, the texture and pasting properties degraded concomitantly during the heating process. Sensory panelists preferred "fufu" prepared from the composite flours with up to 5% replacement of cassava with OFSP. This can potentially contribute 39–77% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of vitamin A for children and 33% for women of reproductive age and help alleviate related deficiency diseases. Practical applications Reducing hunger and promoting health is the foremost objective of the Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3. This requires prioritizing specific food micronutrients and establishing approaches to deliver them to the consuming public. "Fufu" is a staple diet regularly consumed in many households in West Africa. However, its nutritional content is low due to the low content of micronutrients in the traditional ingredients. A new processing recipe for "fufu", which uses the composite flours of the ingredients, aptly lends it to fortification with nutrient-rich ingredients to administer the essential dietary requirements of its consumers. Given the substantial composition of important food micronutrients, particularly β-Carotene, in the orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), it is the most considered candidate crop for meeting the critical dietary needs of people plagued with vitamin A deficiency diseases. The importance of this study, therefore, lies in the development of a new "fufu" product fortified with OFSP to avert the vitamin A deficiency diseases that mostly affect women of reproductive age and children in Africa.