PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Sobukola, O.P.
COLLABORATORS
Dr. Sanni, S. A. College of Food Science and Human Ecology
Prof. Bodunde, G. O. College of Plant Science and Crop Production, FUNAAB
Prof. Henshaw, F. O., College of Food Science and Human Ecology
Dr. Agorlahor, M. College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development, FUNAAB
PROJECT SUMMARY: Vacuum frying technology was used to design the process, characterize the products and determine the economic implications in the development of nutritious and healthy fried snacks from plantain and yellow fleshed cassava roots (YFCR). Three YFCR (TMS-01-1368, TMS-01-1412 and TMS-01-1371) and plantain (Red, Bello and White) varieties were fried under different vacuum frying conditions to optimize the process based on superior quality attributes. The optimized vacuum fried samples were then compared with the common atmospheric deep fat frying based on the equivalent thermal driving forces. Vacuum frying conditions such as frying temperature, frying time as well as vacuum pressure significantly (p<0.05) affected the major quality attributes of fried chips in decreasing order. In terms of the optimization conditions based on desirability concept, vacuum frying conditions varied among the varieties with IITA/TMS 01-1368, IITA/TMS 01-1371 and IITA/TMS 01-1412 having frying temperature, vacuum pressure and frying time of 122oC, 14.49 cmHg and 8 min; 129oC, 9.91 cmHg and 9.75 min; and 122oC, 9.91 cmHg and 9.95 min, respectively. For Plantain varieties of Red, Bello and White, the optimized vacuum frying conditions obtained were frying temperature, vacuum pressure and frying time of 133oC, 14.91 cmHg and 9.73 min; 133oC, 14.07 cmHg and 8.65 min; and 133oC, 14.49 cmHg and 10 min, respectively. Based on the economic analysis presented above, the processing cost structure and profit per processing cycle resulted in total processing cost, net profit per month and return on investment per month of N151,500, N208,556.40 and 137%, respectively while processing cost structure and profit per processing cycle using VF 5.0 vacuum fryer resulted in total processing cost, net profit per month and return on investment per month of N138,954, N221,102.40 and 159%, respectively.
STATUS: On-going