Assessment of the proximate composition, sensory acceptability and microbial loads of unripe plantain flour fortified with dry herring fish

Health challenges are on the increase daily due to insufficient nutrient in the body therefore there is a need to solve the problems. Therefore, this study determined the proximate composition, sensory and microbial qualities of unripe plantain flour fortified with dry Herring fish (‘Shawa’). Unripe plantain flour was mixed with herring fish flour at different levels (100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15 and 80:20). Proximate composition and microbial loads of the fortified flours were determined using standard laboratory procedures. Sensory acceptability of ‘Amala’ prepared with the fortified plantain flours was determined using 7-point hedonic scale of preference. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS (version 21.00). The samples were significantly (p<0.05) different from one another in terms of all the qualities evaluated. The result of the proximate analysis revealed that the percentage of protein, crude fibre, ash and fat content of unripe plantain flour increased while carbohydrate decreased as level of addition of herring fish flour to plantain flour increased. Sample containing 20% herring fish flour had the highest while 100% unripe plantain flour had the lowest. The microbial loads were within the acceptable level recommended for flour samples. Absence of coliform in almost all the flours evaluated revealed the level of hygienic condition at which the samples were prepared. The sensory acceptability result showed that the unripe plantain flour fortified with 10% fish flour was the most acceptable. Fortification at 20% level had the highest protein content, therefore can be recommended for infant, growing children and adults.