![]() ![]() Consuming too much salt may adversely affect health and worsen conditions like cardiovascular diseases and stroke. How does food get contaminated? The unsafe habits that kill more than 400,000 people a yearĪlso, fermented food products often use salt as a preservative. Unregulated traditional practices, which may involve unhygienic utensils and handling, can pose a threat to food safety by introducing bacteria that can survive alkaline conditions. Lower exposure to aflatoxin over a long time may cause immunosuppression and cancer. Heavy exposure to aflatoxin, a type of mycotoxin, causes liver damage, jaundice, haemorrhage and oedema. The adverse health effects of mycotoxins range from acute poisoning to long-term effects such as immune deficiency and cancer. Mycotoxins are capable of causing diseases or even death in humans and other animals. Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by certain moulds that can contaminate crops during growth, harvest, storage or processing. Dawadawa contains antioxidants that help protect cells from oxidative damage (cell damage caused by stress).īut one safety concern is the contamination risk from mycotoxins and bacteria related to poor hygiene. ![]() Iru (African locust beans) and other legume-based products provide essential amino acids and are a rich source of protein and fibre. I’ve also suggested ways to make these foods safer. Risks can arise in the way they are prepared and the quality of the fermentation process.Īs a microbiologist, I’ve studied west African alkaline fermented foods and highlighted some safety issues they present. However, there are safety concerns with some of these foods. ![]() The alkalinity of these fermented foods helps preserve them, because microorganisms (which cause food to spoil) don’t grow so easily in alkaline substances. Although many of these foods are used as condiments, they also serve as low-cost meat substitutes due to their high protein content and taste. Other products include okpehe (Nigeria), soydawadawa (Ghana), ogiri (east Nigeria), and Burkina Faso’s bikalga and soumbala.įermented foods are rich in protein, dietary fibre, and essential minerals such as iron, calcium, and potassium. Some examples of fermented foods from the region are those made from African locust beans, such as iru (Nigeria), dawadawa (Ghana), netetu (Senegal) and afitin (Benin). The microorganisms break down the sugars and other substances in the food, which changes the taste and texture, and sometimes even preserves the food. These are foods that have been transformed by natural processes involving “friendly” microorganisms like bacteria or yeast. A typical west African menu is not complete without a fermented food or drink. ![]()
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