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New papers on Traditional Fermented Foods in Africa
The consortium's in-depth research on preserving traditional fermented foods in Africa has led to its first scientific publications. This project focuses on entrepreneurship, value chains, product development, and microbial ecology in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Benin. This research gains urgency due to the impending threat of climate change, which is likely to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, particularly women and children at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.
Carole Sanya's inaugural project paper examines the technology, microbial diversity, and quality of maize ogi used in making akpan, a popular yogurt-like dish in Benin. The study investigates the processing methods employed by the Fon and Goun socio-cultural groups, analysing key quality factors. Its assesses current ogi production practices, marks changes in product characteristics, and identifies research priorities to improve quality and shelf life.
In her first project paper, Thelma Sikombe presents the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of four variants of mabisi, a traditionally fermented Zambian dairy product. The variants were tonga, backslopping, barotse and illa mabisi, characterised by undisturbed fermentation, using part of a previous batch, removing whey followed by the addition of fresh milk and vigorous shaking, respectively. Barotse and tonga mabisi found broader consumer favour, calling for further quality optimisation research.
The project is supported by the Wageningen Global Sustainability Programme (former INREF) of Wageningen University.