Development and Sensory Assessment of Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Nutritional Science
• Agricultural Economics

Background:

• Shifting dietary trends in Ghana favor convenient, semi-processed breakfast foods over raw options.
• Cereal and grain-based foods are popular but susceptible to significant postharvest losses.
• There is a need to add value to food crops and develop nutritious, convenient meal options.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a nutritious, convenient breakfast meal in flake form using yellow maize and coconut.
• To optimize the formulation of maize-coconut breakfast flakes through varying ingredient ratios.
• To assess the consumer acceptability and nutritional profile of the developed breakfast flakes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Design-Expert's D-optimal design for five different maize-to-coconut formulations (80/20 to 70/30).
• Employed drum drying processing technique to produce breakfast flakes.
• Conducted sensory evaluation with a consumer panel to assess overall acceptability.
• Analyzed proximate composition (protein, fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrate) and energy content.
• Performed microbial analysis for coliform and Bacillus cereus counts.

Main Results:

• All five formulations of maize-coconut breakfast flakes were rated highly acceptable by consumers.
• Overall acceptability decreased as the proportion of coconut decreased in the formulations.
• The formulation with a 70% maize and 30% coconut ratio was the most preferred.
• Processing significantly increased protein, fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrate, and energy content in all formulations.
• Microbial analysis showed low levels of coliform and Bacillus cereus (<10 cfu/g), indicating product safety.

Conclusions:

• Yellow maize and coconut can be effectively processed into a highly acceptable and nutritious breakfast flake.
• The 70/30 maize-to-coconut ratio offers optimal consumer preference and enhanced nutritional value.
• This value-added product addresses postharvest losses in grains and meets the demand for convenient breakfast meals in Ghana.