The effect of rosemary, ginger, or garlic on microbial shelf life and sensory acceptability of nutritionally enriched cassava-based pancake (Kabalagala)

Iron and vitamin A contents of Cassava-based pancake (Kabalagala), a delicacy among children in northern Uganda have recently been improved through the addition of biofortified iron-rich beans and orange-fleshed sweet potato. The nutritionally improved product (NIK) was designed as a strategy to address iron and vitamin A deficiencies which are endemic challenges among children in Uganda. However, the NIK had a lower microbial shelf life (24 h) than the original product (72 h). The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of the spices; rosemary, ginger, and garlic to improve the microbial shelf life of the NIK. Each of the spices was used individually to prepare NIK at a rate of 0.5, 0.75, and 1 %. The resultant products were evaluated for counts of total microbial load, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and molds as well as consumer sensory acceptability during storage at ambient temperature. Results of One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that all the spices exhibited potency against the microbial groups investigated only when included in the NIK at 0.75 % or 1 % (p 1 % ginger >0.75 % ginger >0.5 % ginger in decreasing order. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a strong association between the sensory parameters examined (appearance, aroma, texture, taste) and the overall acceptability of the products (p