ABSTRACT
Cassava also called yuca, Mogo, Manihot, mandiola and Kamoteng kotiox, a woody shrub of the euporbiaceae (spurge family), (Manihot esculenta crantz) is a tropical staple crop grown for its tuberous starch roots (Westby, 2002). Cassava (Manihot escutenta) root is the most perishable of all the root and tuber crops and should never be eaten raw as the root composes of small quantities of cyanogenic glycosides (Okaka, 2004).Cassava roots generally deteriorate very quickly soon after harvest(Onwueme, 2008). Most spoilage organisms are soil or air born spores from field, harvesting and packing machinery (Frazier and West Hoff, 1991). Two cassava varieties TMS98/0505(white) and TMS05/0473 (yellow) were processed into four different products (garri, fufu, flour and tapioca) each and the microbiological and sensory evaluations of these products were evaluated. Study aimed at efficient and appropriate handling of products to promote the totality of the period within which the product is expected to retain its acceptable characteristic quality under normal condition before consumption. Methodolody: Products were analysed for organoleptic properties in wet/fresh conditions using 5point hedonic scale and randomly selected panelists to ascertain the sensory qualities, also samples were cultured for 48hr microbiological examination. Results-showed that microorganisms identified and isolated from samples include; Enterobacterspp, Staphylococcus spp, Klebsiells spp, bacillus, Lactobacillus, protuse vulgaris, Micrococcus spp for bacteria Identification while the fungi identified includes penicillum spp, Aspergillus spp, Rhizopus spp, Mucor spp. The total microbial count ranged from 9.0x102 cfug-1 for white cassava Fufu mash (sample 1) to 4.8x102 cfug-1 in white cassava Flour (sample 5).The samples showed combined positivity and negativity to the morphological, microscopic and biochemical test processes for bacteria and fungi. The sensory properties evaluation had values of result ranging from 6.3? 1.2 to 2.61?1.2 with yellow cassava garri (sample 4) having the highest value while yellow cassava fufu mash (sample 2) had the lowest value and differing significantly (p > 0.05) texture ranged from 6.1 ? 1.7 to 4.07 ? 1.8 .However, overall acceptability ranged from 6.31 ? 1.8 to 4.10 ? 1.2 for tapioca (sample 8) and yellow cassava flour (sample 6) respectively. The overall acceptability showed significant difference at (p > 0.05) among all other samples. Cassava products have appreciable level of microbial load. And both the white and yellow varieties are similar as they showed no much difference in their microbial content. Cassava products has significant level of microbial load hence there is need for proper sanitary condition during processing to avoid health risk among its consumers, especially garri forms the basic staple food in Nigeria and some African countries.
Keywords: Yellow and White cassava products, Microbiological assay, Sensory properties.