TITLE:
Properties of Baby Food Developed from Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato and Mangoes
AUTHORS:
Charity N. Muchoki, Jasper K. Imungi
KEYWORDS:
Sweetpotato, Mangoes, Baby Food, Beta-Carotene, Ascorbic Acid
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.8 No.11,
November
15,
2017
ABSTRACT:
Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) is a major concern in the world today and is a
risk for children in developing countries. Trends have shown that food based
interventions are the preferred long-term solution in controlling VAD as opposed
to supplements. The orange-fleshed sweetpotato and mangoes are rich
in beta-carotene, yet they are not fully utilized. A processed product from
these raw materials will make use of surplus produce, promote year round utilization,
increase the economic value of the crops and provide variety and
convenience of uses. The roots were obtained from the field station, University
of Nairobi, while the mangoes were purchased from the local market. The
roots were washed, peeled and sliced. They were boiled to softness and
mashed. The mangoes were washed, peeled, sliced and pureed in a blender.
The two raw materials were mixed using six different formulations. Each
formula was pasteurized at 80°C for 5 min in a batch pasteurizer, packaged by
hot filling, cooled immediately and stored. The cooking time for the sweetpotatoes
was 19.5 min. Losses of beta-carotene and ascorbic acid ranged from
17% - 21% and 18% - 28% respectively after pasteurization. The total solids
increased by 3% on average. Changes due to storage of the product at 25°C
could be detected by sensory analysis only after six months of storage. After
storage, beta-carotene and ascorbic acid decreased by 18% and by 45% respectively.
The final stored product could provide 73.7% and 64.5% of retinol
equivalent for infants and 1 - 10 year-olds respectively. It could also provide
48.9% of ascorbic acid for children 1 - 10 years old, when consumed in
amounts of 100 g per day.