Peanut Sauce Research Articles

Oligosaccharide Profile of Milk from 60 Mothers Breastfeeding of Infants Aged 45 Days in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Introduction: Breast milk contains essential macro and micronutrients for infant maturation. Among these macronutrients are oligosaccharides, considered prebiotics. They are the third most abundant component of breast milk after lipids and lactose, and their concentrations are influenced by various factors, including maternal dietary habits. This study aims to evaluate the effect of two dietary habits on the variation of the oligosaccharide profile in breast milk. Methods: The study involved 60 mothers of full-term, exclusively breastfed infants. Five (5) ml milk samples were collected from mothers of 45-day-old infants, and a questionnaire on the frequency of consumption of staple foods and fruits was administered. The correlation between the concentrations of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FSL) and the dietary habits of breastfeeding mothers was analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results: The average concentrations of Neu5Ac and 2’-FSL in mature breast milk were 2.20 ± 0.83 and 1.19 ± 0.56 g/L for mothers consuming rice with peanut sauce (R-PS) and 2.45 ± 0.65 and 1.76 ± 0.66 g/L for those consuming attiéké with fried fish (A-FF). Statistical analyses revealed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in oligosaccharide content between the milk of mothers who consumed R-PS and A-FF. However, there was a positive correlation between the frequency of fruit consumption and the occurrence of gastroenteritis in infants (r = 0.504) and a significant decrease in the 2’-fucosyllactose content in the milk of A-FF mothers who consumed oranges 3 to 5 times a week (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The consumption of R-PS and A-FF, along with moderate fruit consumption, positively influences the oligosaccharide profile of breast milk. Particular attention should be given to nutritional education during lactation due to its potential impact on infant health through microbiota development.

Biosafety of gado-gado street food around Jember campus

The gado-gado food is the Javanese salad with peanut sauce consists of vegetable filling, lontong, potatoes, eggs, tofu and peanut sauce so has complete nutritional content, namely carbohydrates, fiber, protein and a little fat. This research aims to determine the biosafety of gado-gado food from street vendors around the Jember campus. This research is an exploratory study that investigates the biosafety of gado-gado street food around the Jember campus based on exposure to enteric microbes as an sanitation indicator using the chromogenic media. The isolated microbes were determined the fermentation profile using the BBL Crystal kit. Sampling was taken in three different places in zone 1 (A1), zone 2 (A2) and zone 3 (A3). The sampling time was carried out at 10am when the trader had just opened his stall (B1) and at 3pm before the trader closed his stall (B2). The amount of total bacterial in gado-gado from the street vendors around the Jember campus reached up to 105 CFU/g. The blue colony was identified as Raoutella planticola, which mostly comes from the soil and water. It is recommended that protect the street food from dust, air and need good handling of food service.

The Origin of The Legendary Specialty Food Nasi Uduk: A Review of SWOT Analysis

Tourism is an activity that involves the travel and visit of a person or group of people to a place or area outside of their place of residence for recreational, leisure, business, or educational purposes. The term tourism encompasses various activities such as travel, lodging, food, and other recreational activities undertaken by tourists during the period of their visit. Culinary tourism is a travel activity or part of it that is carried out voluntarily and temporarily to enjoy typical food or drinks. One of the culinary in Jakarta, namely Nasi Uduk is white rice cooked with coconut milk sauce so that the rice is slightly "filled and has taste", served with fried onions, given additional side dishes and peanut sauce. This analysis uses descriptive qualitative analysis and is supplemented by SWOT analysis.

Quality Test of Peanut Sauce Made from Different Ratio of Hyacinth Beans (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) and Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

This study aims to analyze the proximate content (protein, fat, water content, ash content, and carbohydrate), as well as the effect of hyacinth beans and groundnuts ratios on the organoleptic properties of peanut sauce. This study was an experimental study using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The results showed that the hyacinth beans and groundnuts ratio significantly affected the proximate test results, hedonic quality of texture, color, and panelist preferences on the color of peanut sauce. The highest protein content was found in the 50:50 hyacinth beans and groundnuts ratio with the lowest water and carbohydrate content. Meanwhile, the lowest fat and ash content were observed in the 90:10 ratio of hyacinth beans and groundnuts. The highest texture hedonic qualities were identified in peanut sauce with a 50 percent: 50 percent hyacinth and groundnuts ratio, compared to the crude category (3.61). Additionally, the highest hedonic color values were observed in the peanut sauce made from 50:50 and 70:30 ratios, with the values of 3.63 and 3.7, respectively. Meanwhile, in the category of slightly dark chocolate, the preferred level is the value of 4.19 and 4.21, respectively. The hedonic quality of taste and flavor ranges between 4.11-4.17 (delicious, tasty) and 4.51-4.66 (a bit not rotten-rotten). The preference level for texture, taste, and flavor showed no significant difference with the values of 4.24-4.31 (similar), 4.13-4.16 (similar), and 4.1-4, 39 (similar), respectively, on all samples.

Viscosity and organoleptic test of gude bean soy sauce (Cajanus cajan L.)

Gude nuts are known as wooden nuts on Kisar Island, which is an area that uses wood nuts as food. This study aims to determine the viscosity value and organoleptic test of pigeon pea sauce based on the weight of the beans. This research was conducted in February - March 2021 at the Laboratory of the Biology Education Study Program, FKIP, Pattimura University, Ambon and a viscosity test at the Ambon Industrial Standardization and Research Institute (Baristand) using an experimental research type and the research design used was a completely randomized design ( RAL), using 3 treatments, namely the weight of pigeon pea 150 g, 300 g and 450 g and using 2 replications to obtain 6 samples. This study showed that the weight of pigeon pea had an effect on the viscosity and organoleptic of soy sauce. From the viscosity analysis, the highest viscosity was obtained, namely 608.065 cp with a weight of 450 g pigeon pea, while for pigeon pea 300 g 411.065 cp and 150 g gude beans at 141 cp and organoleptic test obtained the average value of the texture of soy sauce on the treatment of pigeon pea and soy sauce 450 g pigeon pea 300 g with an average value of 4 (very thick) and peanut gude 150 g with an average value of 3 (thick). In the flavor of pigeon pea sauce 300 g and 150 g have an average value of 3 (fragrant), while for the treatment of 450 g peanuts is 4 (very fragrant). The color of the soy sauce in the pigeon pea sauce treatment was 450 g and 300 g with an average value of 4 (very black), and the 150 g peanut sauce treatment was 3 (black). In the treatment of 450 g of pigeon pea sauce and 300 g of pigeon pea sauce, the average value was 3 (sweet). For 150 g of pigeon pea soy sauce, on average the panelists gave a score of 2 (less sweet). There is an influence on the viscosity because the weight of the nuts used is different. while the organoleptic test showed a thick, fragrant, less sweet, and sweet taste.

KAJIAN CEMARAN MIKROBIOLOGIS CILOK DAN SAUS KACANG DI KOTA SURAKARTA

Cilok was a traditional food originating from Bandung and comes from the abbreviation of "Aci dicolok". As the name implies, a snack made from tapioca flour mixed with condiment and sometime using meat or fish fillet. It was tasty and chewy. Cilok has quietly different from meatball because meatball using wheat flour. Cilok usually consumed using a sauce made from crushed peanuts, sugars, salt, mixed with chili sauce, tomato sauce, or soy sauce which can be modified as you want. Recently, cilok sales in the city of Surakarta have become increasingly popular. In almost every corner we can find cilok sellers. This study aims to determine the level of microbiological contamination found in cilok and peanut sauce in Surakarta. The research method used was simple random sampling method from 5 districts in Surakarta. The number of contaminants was calculated by the direct plate count method. The tests performed were to determine the total plate count (ALT), total Staphylococci, total Salmonella shigella, and total coliforms of the cilok and also for the sauce. As for the cilok sample, the average log value of ALT was 6.57 - 7.97 log CFU / g, total Staphylococci 4.57 - 4.96 log CFU / g, Salmonella shigella was 0.53 - 1.23 log CFU / g, and total coliforms 1.00 - 2.26 log CFU / g. Peanut sauce sample, the average log value of ALT was 7.40 - 8.18 log CFU / g, total staphylococci 5.84 - 6.68 log CFU / g, total Salmonella shigella was 2.24 - 3.23 log CFU / g, and Escherichia coli 2.35 - 5.79 log CFU / g. From the test results of the peanut sauce and peanut sauce samples, it can be concluded that the peanut sauce and peanut sauce sold in Surakarta are still not suitable for consumption.

Effects of Cooking Method on the Antioxidant Activity and Inhibition of Lipid Peroxidation of the Javanese Salad “Pecel” Vegetables and Its Peanut Sauce Dressing

Vegetables are essential in our diet to maintain health, partly due to their antioxidant properties. A well-known Javanese salad called “Pecel” is prepared by boiling the vegetables and dressed with seasoned peanut sauce. Cooking can reduce or improve the antioxidant properties of foods; therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of brief water boiling (1 min), steaming (1 min), and water blanching (20 s) of the Javanese Pecel vegetables, with or without the peanut sauce. We assessed the in vitro antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation inhibition of the salad samples prepared using each cooking method. Six vegetables, i.e., Sesbania grandiflora (turi) flower, Amaranthus hybridus L. (spinach), Carica papaya (papaya) leaves, Cosmos caudatus L. (kenikir) leaves, Vigna unguiculata ssp. Sesquipedalis (yard-long beans), and Vigna radiata (mung-bean) sprouts were cooked by boiling or steaming for 1 min or blanching for 20 s. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), the raw material for peanut sauce, was fried in either fresh palm oil or repeatedly used palm oil. Our results revealed that the highest antioxidant capacity (percent inhibition of DPPH radicals) was observed following boiling for 1 min in case of spinach (41.94 ± 9.8%), papaya (59.04 ± 5.35%), kenikir (54.93% ± 6.32%), and yard-long beans (70.21 ± 8.91%); steaming for 1 min in case of turi flower (60.25 ± 3.63%); and blanching for 20 s in case of mung-bean sprouts (49.27 ± 3.69%). Peanut sauce prepared by frying peanuts in fresh or repeatedly used palm oil reduces the natural antioxidant and lipid peroxidation inhibition properties. However, seasoning the peanut sauce with fresh garlic and lime leaves can restore the lost antioxidant properties. Our study provides the first and clear evidence of the optimal cooking method for Pecel vegetables and sheds light on the wisdom behind the existing traditional cooking method.

Introducing New Traditional Cuisine for Maintaining Culture and Promoting Tourism in Tegal Regency

Culture is the custom, the art, the specific institution, and the achievement of a particular nation, people, or social group. Since a culture reflects the life of its owner, when the owner of a culture no longer keeps the culture, it becomes a history. One of ways of maintaining culture is through developing new ones, such as developng new tradition. One of the examples of it is developing new tradition of cooking traditional cuisine especially made by local people using local ingredient with new way of consuming it. This research shows how the local people of Tegal Regency develops new traditional cuisine from the old one, supported by the local govenment to be part of their culinary tourism promotion. The first one is sate blengong, a side dish developed from the old/original chicken/lamb satay but was made of blengong meat, a cross breed of bebek (duck) and mentok (Muscovy duck), sticked on bamboo skewer, grilled and served with peanut sauce. The second one is Rujak Teplak, a side dish developed from the old/original rujak (boiled vegetables served with peanuts sauce) whose name is created from the way the seller put nine kinds of vegetable on banana leaf as its wrapping (teplak means putting something with a force resulting a kind of slapping sound). The result shows that the new traditional cuisines are famous for its uniqueness and good taste so that it attracts tourists to come and taste it after seeing them being promoted through various social medias. It can be concluded that those new cuisines keeps Tegal Regency’s culinary tradition as part of their culture that is beneficial to promote Tegal Regency culinary tourism.Keywords: culture, tradition, cuisine, culinary, tourism, promotion

Changes of Chemical Composition and Aflatoxin Content of Peanut Products as Affected by Processing Methods

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Peanut production in Indonesia is predominantly used for food, thus information on nutritional aspects and aflatoxin contamination in peanuts is essential in terms of food security and safety. As changes may occur during </span></p></div><div class="column"><p><span>processing, the effects of processing methods on chemical composition and aflatoxin content in selected peanut products were studied. The dried peanut pods collected from a farmer in Ponorogo, East Java were stored for one month, and then the kernels were prepared into fried peanut (</span><span>kacang goreng</span><span>), peanut sauce (</span><span>sambel pecel</span><span>), peanut press cake (</span><span>bungkil kacang</span><span>), fried-pressed peanut (</span><span>bungkil kacang goreng</span><span>), fermented peanut press cake (</span><span>tempe bungkil kacang</span><span>), and fried peanut tempe (</span><span>tempe bungkil kacang goreng</span><span>). The trial was arranged in a randomized complete design with three replicates. ELISA method was applied for aflatoxin B</span><span>1 </span><span>analysis. The results showed that peanut kernels contained 26.3% protein (dw) and 50.4% fat (dw) with relatively low aflatoxin B</span><span>1 </span><span>content (9.1 ppb) due to low moisture level (5.6%), no </span><span>Aspergillus flavus </span><span>infection and high sound/intact kernels (73.1%). Peanuts processed into </span><span>tempe bungkil kacang </span><span>showed the highest increase in protein content, followed by </span><span>tempe bungkil kacang goreng</span><span>, </span><span>bungkil kacang</span><span>, and </span><span>bungkil kacang goreng</span><span>, while fat contents decreased in all products. Processing into </span><span>kacang goreng </span><span>and </span><span>bungkil kacang goreng </span><span>decreased aflatoxin B</span><span>1 </span><span>by 26.4% and 41.8%, respectively, while no significant differences were noted in </span><span>sambal pecel </span><span>and </span><span>bungkil kacang</span><span>. Aflatoxin B</span><span>1 </span><span>increased two-fold during the preparation of </span><span>tempe bungkil kacang</span><span>, however it significantly decreased by 38.9% after deep-fried. Excluding peanut tempe, all peanut products contained aflatoxin B</span><span>1 </span><span>below the permitted level (15 ppb), therefore they are safe for consumption.</span></p></div></div></div>

Aflatoxin and nutrient contents of peanut collected from local market and their processed foods

Peanut is succeptable to aflatoxin contamination and the sources of peanut as well as processing methods considerably affect aflatoxin content of the products. Therefore, the study on aflatoxin and nutrient contents of peanut collected from local market and their processed foods were performed. Good kernels of peanut were prepared into fried peanut, pressed-fried peanut, peanut sauce, peanut press cake, fermented peanut press cake (tempe) and fried tempe, while blended kernels (good and poor kernels) were processed into peanut sauce and tempe and poor kernels were only processed into tempe. The results showed that good and blended kernels which had high number of sound/intact kernels (82,46% and 62,09%), contained 9.8-9.9 ppb of aflatoxin B1, while slightly higher level was seen in poor kernels (12.1 ppb). However, the moisture, ash, protein, and fat contents of the kernels were similar as well as the products. Peanut tempe and fried tempe showed the highest increase in protein content, while decreased fat contents were seen in all products. The increase in aflatoxin B1 of peanut tempe prepared from poor kernels > blended kernels > good kernels. However, it averagely decreased by 61.2% after deep-fried. Excluding peanut tempe and fried tempe, aflatoxin B1 levels in all products derived from good kernels were below the permitted level (15 ppb). This suggests that sorting peanut kernels as ingredients and followed by heat processing would decrease the aflatoxin content in the products.

Reduction of Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxins in peanut sauce processing by oil-less frying of chilli powder and retort processing

ABSTRACTAmong the many roles played by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry is the production of heritage foods such as peanut sauce. Unfortunately, the safety of peanut sauce is not always assured as the processing line is not controlled. Peanut sauce is usually made of peanuts and chilli, and these commodities are normally contaminated with Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxins (AFs). Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the practices related to reduction of AF hazard and the effect of interventions in peanut sauce processing. Peanut samples were collected from each step of peanut sauce processing from a small peanut sauce company according to four designs: (1) control; (2) oil-less frying of chilli powder; (3) addition of retort processing; and (4) combination of oil-less frying of chilli powder and retort processing. Oil-less frying of chilli powder (Design 2) reduced total AFs by 33–41%, retort processing (Design 3) reduced total AFs by 49%, while combination of these two thermal processes (Design 4) significantly reduced total AFs, by 57%. The present work demonstrated that Design 4 yielded the highest reduction of total AFs and is therefore recommended to be employed by SME companies.

KADAR LEMAK ES KRIM TEPUNG DAUN KELOR (Moringa oleifera) BERDASARKAN VARIASI VOLUME SARI KACANG TANAH (Arhacis hypogea)

Background: Moringa leaves are rich in nutrients and are a source of antioxidants, but are underutilizedby the community as a food because of its 'langu' smell. In an effort to increase the benefits to extendthe shelf life of products and also attract people to consume the leaves of Moringa leaves leaf can beprocessed into flour, then made ice cream with the addition of peanut essence to see the fat content.Method: This study used Completely Randomized Design (RAL). The data were analyzed using OneWay Anova inferential statistics.Result: There is influence of addition of variation of peanut extract (Arachis hypogea) to fat content inice cream Moringa leaves (Moringa oleifera) that is control 4,457%, addition of 50 ml peanut essenceas much as 5,207%, addition of 75 ml peanut sauce 5,956% , and the addition of groundnut peanuts100 ml fat content of 5.993%.Conclusion: There is an effect of addition of peanut pollen (Arachis hypogea) variation on fat contentin ice cream Moringa leaves (Moringa oleifera).

Filipino “Kulinarya” Cuisine and Chronic Kidney Disease

Filipino “Kulinarya” Cuisine and Chronic Kidney Disease

Discerning the Infinite in Common Things

Discerning the Infinite in Common Things Sam Pickering (bio) Essayists on the Essay: Montaigne to Our Time edited by Carl H. Klaus and Ned Stuckey-French (University of Iowa Press, 2012. xxviii + 226 pages. $25 pb) Essayists on the Essay is beautifully laid out, margins and font uncluttered and the flatware of print elegant. The contents are appetizers. Many selections are short; and, because they concentrate on defining the essay, they lack the sweet and sour of variety. Of course a reader can make an evening out of excerpts as he can a meal of appetizers: spring rolls, scallion pancakes, jelly fish, fried and steamed dumplings, and, if his appetite isn't satiated, cold noodles with hot sesame peanut sauce. If pressed for time or interest, a reader could be well served at the drive-through, ordering Phillip Lopate's introduction to The Art of the Personal Essay and from Essayists on the Essay the excerpt from A. C. Benson's "The Art of the Essayist." In Dreamthorp, a book that people interested in the personal essay should read in its entirety, Alexander Smith states that a good [End Page lxxvi] essayist needs "an ability to discern the infinite suggestiveness of common things." Arthur Benson seconds the idea, saying the essayist needs a "far-ranging curiosity." "He must recognize the fact," Benson continues, "that most people's convictions are not the result of reason, but a mass of associations, traditions, things half-understood, phrases, examples, loyalties, whims. He must care more about the inconsistency of humanity than about its dignity; and he must study more what people actually do think about than what they ought to think about." Benson's essayist is genteel and at home in the world. He is perspicacious and comfortable. Financially he is at least middle class and has the leisure to observe and grow wise. In religious terms he is the gentleman sinner, a character loathed by hatchet-toting literary Pentecostals. The aim of such an essayist is not to reform but simply to "make people interested in life and in themselves." Benson's sensible, and to me congenial, modesty is an appealing relief from academic boosterism and hyperbole. "The great secret which the true essayist whispers in our ears is that the worth of experience is not measured by what is called success, but rather resides in a fullness of life," Benson writes, adding "that success tends rather to obscure and to diminish experience, and that we may miss the point of life by being too important." Anthologies are the terrain of theme-hunters. Several contributors here maintain that the personal essay frees them from the restraints of systematic writing and thinking. At the beginning of the seventeenth century William Cornwallis the Younger stated that the essay was "a manner of writing well befitting undigested motions," and in the eighteenth century in the Spectator Joseph Addison described his writings, saying that while some were written "with Regularity and Method" others ran "out into the Wildness of those Compositions which go by the Names of Essays." Today apologists contrast personal essays with specialized writing, usually criticizing dry-as-dust academic straw men. Style sheets do not a prison make nor footnotes a cage, and much academic writing is thoughtful and entertaining. Praising the personal essay for its spontaneity or wildness bestows an underserved romantic authenticity upon the form. If the essay partakes of romantic freedom and poetics at all, those poetics are tamed, smacking more of Capability Brown's curried expanses of ground and groves of trees than of unpruned natural gardens. Personal essays are various; and, if their paragraphs are rarely long hedges of Baconian aphorisms, aphorisms abound as do literary alleys, topiaries, parterres, and geometrical temples. Writers work hard to create the illusion of spontaneity much as landscape architects once created palladian villas. No essayist escapes the limitations of language. Their wild "motions" are run to ground and leashed to words. Writers revise and shape; and to praise the page for its freedom and spontaneity, not its appearance of freedom and spontaneity, is naïve, and maybe wistful. Perhaps people—especially closeted teachers who study the essay—want to believe that some literary...

Argentinean peanut sauce similar to mayonnaise: chemical, nutritional and sensorial aspects

The purpose of this study was to prepare a dressing using blanched Argentinian peanuts, that looks like mayonnaise and that has a patterns of a healthy nourishment. The general composition of the product, as well as the fatty acid composition and stability to oxidation were determined and compared to standard commercial mayonnaise and sunflower oil. A consumer test was performed on the product. The results showed a better nutritional quality of the peanut mayonnaise, due to a lower fat and caloric contents and a higher mono-unsaturated proportion of fatty acids than the other dressings. This product contains fiber and vitamin E, it lacks cholesterol and is low in sodium. The stability to lipid oxidation was similar to that of standard commercial mayonnaise and sunflower oil. Concerning sensorial aspects, the product was well accepted by 71.7 % of the consumer panelists. It responds to healthy-food guidelines and can be used for various purposes.

Protection from cholera by adding lime juice to food - results from community and laboratory studies in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.

Epidemiological studies have shown that food plays an important role in the transmission of Vibrio cholerae, and different foods have been incriminated in many epidemic outbreaks of cholera. Storing contaminated meals at ambient temperatures allows growth of V. cholerae. Some ingredients such as lime juice may inhibit the survival of V. cholerae in foods. During an epidemic caused by V. cholerae O1 in Guinea-Bissau in 1996, a case control study was conducted in the capital Bissau, the main affected region with an attack rate of 7.4%. Cases were hospitalized patients and controls were matched for area, gender and age. Lime juice in the sauce eaten with rice gave a strong protective effect (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.17-0.56), and tomato sauce was also protective (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.24-0.54). On the other hand, use of a bucket for storage of water in the house was associated with increased risk (OR = 4.4, CI = 2.21-8.74). Laboratory experiments to elucidate the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of lime juice on survival of V. cholerae in meals showed that V. cholerae thrives in rice with peanut sauce, but lime juice inhibited its growth. Since lime juice is a common ingredient of sauces, its use should be further encouraged to prevent foodborne transmission in the household during cholera outbreaks.

The microbiological quality of street foods in Jakarta as compared to home-prepared foods and foods from tourist hotels

Street foods are ready-to-eat foods which are important for the diet of especially poor people in developing countries. However, street foods are often suspected of being contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. The quality of street foods was compared with similar home-prepared foods and foods obtained from tourist hotels. Samples of three types of Indonesian dishes were analyzed for indicator organisms using dry hydratable film. Additional western meals were also obtained from the hotels. Background information was obtained from the food preparers by using a questionnaire. The microbial quality of nasi goreng (fried rice) and sate ayam (grilled chicken with peanut sauce) was usually acceptable: numbers of total coliform were low and often no Escherichia coli was found. Gado gado (a dish mainly consisting of vegetables, peanut sauce and bean curd) had higher contamination levels. The gado gado obtained from street food vendors had especially high counts of total coliform and Escherichia coli with median counts of 5.5 × 106 (total coliform) and 6.0 × 103 (E. coli), respectively. The serving temperature might contribute to this difference in contamination level because nasi goreng and sate ayam are served hot and gado gado is served cold. The quality of the three western foods obtained from hotels was not better than that of the Indonesian dishes served; however the quality differed among the four hotels from which samples were obtained. Even food obtained from five-star hotels was sometimes unsafe (counts per gram for APC > 107; total coliform > 102; E. coli > 107). Lack of facilities and a limited knowledge of hygiene, particularly of the street food vendors, may have led to poor handling practices, such as storing cooked vegetables at ambient temperature for long periods, resulting in relatively high levels of contamination.

Prevalence of Listeria monoctogenes in foods in Malaysia

A total of 234 samples of food, consisting of 158 of raw and 76 samples of ready-to-eat food were examined for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The frequencies of L. monocytogenes contamination in raw foods were: chicken portions (60%), liver (60%) and gizzard (62%), beef (50%), beansprout (85%), prawns (44%), kupang (dried oysters) (33%), bean cake (25%), satay (48%) and leafy vegetables (22%). Of the ready-to-eat foods: satay (26%), prawns, squids, clams and chicken dishes (22%), cucumber (80%) and peanut sauce (20%) were found to yield L. monocytogenes.

Parboiled sorghum: Development of a novel decorticated product

The effect of parboiling on the milling yield and cooking quality of whole sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor [L. Moench]) kernels was examined. Cultivars differing widely in kernel characteristics were: (1) soaked overnight and boiled for 10 min (Soak-Boil or SB) and (2) brought to boiling point, soaked overnight and brought to boil again (Boil-Soak-Boil or BSB). The cooked samples were dried at ambient temperature prior to abrasive decortication. Both parboiling procedures significantly increased the yield of decorticated grain while reducing kernel breakage. The BSB process resulted in significantly higher decorticated grain yields with less ‘brokens’ than the SB process. The decortication yield of soft cultivars was increased by up to 2·2-fold by parboiling, compared with 1·2-fold for hard cultivars. Parboiled, decorticated sorghum produced a light-colored, cooked product with firm, intact kernels and acceptable appearance and aroma. Field trials in Mali with local sorghum and millet samples confirmed the improved decortication yields obtained under laboratory conditions. The cooked products were consumed with Malian dishes and condiments such as peanut sauce and were rated very acceptable. The process requires low-level technology that is available in villages in sorghum and millet producing areas. No specialized equipment is needed to parboil grain on a village scale. Parboiling may be a practical method by which shelf stable, processed products from sorghum and millet can be prepared while enhancing decortication yields, especially for soft cultivars.

EPIDEMIC CHOLERA IN WEST AFRICA: TUE ROLE OF FOOD HANDLING AND HIGH-RISK FOODS

During an epidemic of cholera in Guinea, West Africa, in 1986, the authors conducted two studies of risk factors for transmission. In the capital city, 35 hospitalized cholera patients were more likely than 70 neighborhood-matched controls to have eaten leftover peanut sauces (odds ration (OR) = 3.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-8.2), but less likely to have eaten tomato sauces (OR = 0.2, 95 percent CI 0.1-0.9). Hand washing with soap before meals by all family members protected against cholera (OR = 0.2, 95 percent CI 0.02-0.96), suggesting that persons asymptomatically infected with Vibrio cholerae 01 may have been the initial source for contamination of the leftover foods. Laboratory studies demonstrated that V. cholerae multiplied rapidly in peanut sauce (pH 6.0), but not in the more acidic tomato sauce (pH 5.0). In an outbreak of cholera-like illness after a rural funeral, illness was strongly associated with eating a rice meal served over many hours without reheating. These studies demonstrated that, in this epidemic, many cases of severe cholera were associated with eating specific cooked foods that could support bacterial growth after contamination of these foods with V. cholerae within the household. Epidemic control efforts should include identification of high-risk foods and promotion of simple changes in food handling behaviors to lower the risk of foodborne transmission.