ABSTRACT

Fufu, a fermented wet-paste from cassava is being prepared by different methods, and different substances used in form of aids are being added to it to fasten its fermentation. There are concerns that these substances may pose health risks to consumers. After fermenting TME 419 cassava variety with several aids (detergent, kerosene, and palm ash) and a control (without a fermentation aid), wet fufu mashes and dough were produced. Proximate analysis, surfactant analysis, hydrocarbon test analysis, chemical analysis (amylose, amylopectin, starch, and free sugar), pH, fufu yield determination, pasting characteristics determination, and sensory assessment were all performed on the fufu samples. According to the results of the proximate composition, the moisture content of the wet fufu mashes ranged from 52.60 to 59.40%, dry matter from 45.40 to 46.50%, ash from 0.63 to 0.85%, crude fiber from 0.94 to 1.03%, fat from 0.25 to 0.42%, crude protein from 0.96 to 1.49%, carbohydrate from 83.11 to 83.73%, and energy value from 182 – 184.66Kcal/j. The wet fufu mashes had anionic surfactant levels between 0.02 and 0.16 mg/l and cationic surfactant levels between 0.02 and 0.18 mg/l, whereas the cooked fufu dough had anionic surfactant levels between 0.01 and 0.13 mg/l and cationic surfactant levels between 0.01 and 0.16 mg/l. Discrepancy was observed in the various amounts of surfactants seen in the fufu samples when compared to the control and this was caused by the presence of the fermentation aids. The wet fufu mashes' total hydrocarbon content ranged from 0.15 to 2.77 mg/l, whereas the cooked fufu dough's total hydrocarbon content ranged from 0.12 to 1.86 mg/l. The fufu flour's amylose concentration ranged from 12.080 to 21.230%, its amylopectin level from 78.769 to 87.092%, its free sugar from 0.165 to 0.215%, and its starch from 0.475 to 0.775%. After 72 hours, the initial pH of the fermenting fufu samples, which varied from 5.84 to 6.81, exhibited a striking reduction to ranges of 4.18 to 4.15.  The fufu mash and chaff yields of the samples ranged from 40 to 52% and 38 to 48%. The peak viscosity of the fufu flour samples ranged from 4632.00 to 6207.50RVU, the trough was between 1705 and 3519RVU, the breakdown viscosity was between 2560.00 and 3383.00RVU, and the final viscosity was between 2390.00 and 4934.00RVU. The peak time ranged from 4.64 to 5.13 min, and the pasting temperature was 76.0 - 78.28^oC. The results of the sensory examination showed that the scores for Appearance ranged from 8.70 to 8.85, Odour ranged from 8.55 to 8.85, Drawability ranged from 8.45 to 8.85, Smoothness ranged from 8.50 to 8.85, Taste ranged from 8.75 to 8.85, and Overall Acceptance ranged from 9.10 to 9.20. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the rating of the fufu samples. The results from this study indicates that the fermentation aids had no significant effects on the proximate analysis, chemical analysis, pasting characteristics and on sensory evaluation, but significantly affected (p<0.05) the fufu mash yield, surfactant and hydrocarbon tests from the wet mashes and on the final fufu dough.