Nutrient content and survival of selected pathogenic bacteria in kenkey used as a weaning food in Ghana.

Kenkey is a cooked, fermented white maize food of the people of the southern half of Ghana. There are three types of kenkey viz: Ga, Fanti-Brown and Fanti-White. Kenkey is widely used as a weaning pap by a lot of low income families. In mashing it into the weaning pap, mothers use their bare hands. This and the use of untreated water, especially in rural communities, introduce the risk of microbial contamination. Kenkey's nutritional contribution to the weanling and the survival of selected pathogenic bacteria in kenkey's milieu were investigated in this study. Crude Protein (CP) was determined by the Kjedahl method. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to determine levels of minerals. Escherichia coli (1955 and 101,685), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus populations in kenkey milieu of pH 4 were monitored over a period of time. Our results suggested that, nutritionally, Ga kenkey is the best of the three types of kenkey. A weanling of 9 kg body weight is maximally offered 450 g of kenkey a day. This weight of kenkey offers the following levels of nutrients on as-it-is or wet basis: CP, 13.13 g and dry matter (DM), 141.14 g. Minerals levels were P, 266.22 mg; Ca, 14.1 mg; K, 451.94 mg; Na, 1301.15 mg; Mg, 260 mg; Fe, 8.65 mg; Zn, 3.91 mg; Cu, 0.23 mg; Mn, 1.15 mg; Co, 0.6 mg; and Cr, 0.36 mg. These values did not satisfy the recommended daily dietary allowances (RDAs) for weaning. The populations of our test pathogenic bacteria were reduced by 1-3 logs in 30 min in Ga kenkey milieu of pH 4. In using kenkey for weaning purposes, therefore, breastfeeding and selected nutrient supplementation are necessary to avert malnutrition. Since the extent of microbial reduction on exposure to a lethal agent also depends on the initial microbial load, mothers should wash their hands very well to reduce microbial loads before using them to mash kenkey. They should also use treated water and heat the kenkey pap before serving.

PIP: Kenkey, a cooked, fermented, white maize food, is widely used by low-income families in southern Ghana as a weaning pap. Of concern is the use of bare hands to mash the pap and untreated water to moisten the food. This study evaluated kenkey's nutritional value and the survival of selected pathogenic bacteria in kenkey's milieu. 10 samples of each of the 3 types of kenkey were purchased from commercial producers and molded into balls weighing 300 g. The crude protein content of dry matter, determined by the Kjedahl method, was 9.31% for Ga, 9.30% for Fanti-Brown, and 8.23% for Fanti-White kenkey. 450 g of kenkey (the maximum daily amount offered a 9 kg weanling) provides 13.13 g of crude protein and 141.14 g of dry matter. Mineral levels of wet kenkey, determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, failed to meet the recommended daily dietary allowances for weaning. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aurens populations in a kenkey milieu of pH 4 were reduced by 1-3 logs in 30 minutes. The extent of microbial reduction depended on the initial contamination level. These findings indicate that kenkey must be supplemented by breast feeding for as long as possible or animal proteins to prevent malnutrition in weaning children. Recommended, to avert pathogenic contamination, are hand washing before mashing, use of treated water, and heating of the pap before serving.

Cassava as a non-conventional filler in comminuted meat products.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) was used as an unconventional filler to produce affordable comminuted meat products that stored well under tropical conditions without refrigeration. The study involved two experiments. In experiment 1, five different emulsion-type pork sausages containing 5.4, 9.0 and 10.0% mould-free cassava flour, 5.4% crude full fat soy flour and a control without filler were assessed 0 and 7 days after preparation. A 40-member taste panel sensorily assessed the products in a 5 × 2 factorial (treatment × storage occasion) experiment based on the external appearance of the uncooked products and the external and internal colour, consistency, texture, aroma and taste of the cooked products. Although the panel judged products with 5.4% cassava flour as the best, the 9% inclusion level of cassava flour was found not to compromise the organoleptic qualities of the product. At this level 54 000 cedis (US$150) was saved on the cost of producing 1t of the product. In experiment 2, the sausages were pasteurised at 80 °C for 1 h and stored in a 4:1 vinegar-sugar solution or a 1:1:50 vinegar-sugar-water solution at 5 and 30 °C. Storage in 4:1 vinegar-sugar medium arrested bacterial growth over the 7-day monitoring period. It was concluded that 9% cassava flour could conveniently replace fat in comminuted meat products and a combination of pasteurisation and storage in vinegar-sugar solution is an effective method of storage of such products in the tropics.

Determination of cathepsins B and H in sera and synovial fluids of patients with different joint diseases.

Synovial fluids and sera of patients with inflammatory and metabolic joint diseases contain different cysteine proteinases. The quantities of cathepsins B and H were determined by newly developed specific enzyme-linked immunoassay tests (ELISA), with detection limits of 0.5 microgram/l for cathepsin B and 3 micrograms/l for cathepsin H. The values of cathepsin B in normal sera ranged from 0.6 microgram/l to 2 micrograms/l, whereas in sera of patients with joint diseases they ranged from 1.7 micrograms/l to 18 micrograms/l. Cathepsin H was not found in sera (values below 3 micrograms/l), but was measurable in patients' synovial fluids. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have on average the highest values of cathepsin B in synovial fluids, whereas patients with undifferentiated arthritis have the highest values of cathepsin H. The results show that cathepsins B and H are present in arthritic synovial fluids, where they may be implicated in destructive processes. There is yet no clear correlation between the quantity of each cathepsin released in synovia and the clinical diagnosis or the stage of the disease.

Chicken-to-Human Infection with Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli : Biotype and Serotype Correlation.

Isolates of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from two flocks of parent hens and their progeny which were followed from hatch to slaughter in 10 different farms within a 6-month period in the area of Ljubljana, Yugoslavia were bio- and serotyped. They were compared to those isolated from diarrheic patients within the same period of time. C. jejuni biotype I of Lior's biotyping scheme was found most predominant. Using 25 unabsorbed antisera raised against live C. jejunicoli cultures, 62.2% and 44.8% of the isolates from patients and chickens, respectively, could be serotyped. Penner sergroups (PG) 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, and 22 were found common to both patients and chickens. PG 2 was the most common isolate. PG 8, which was the second most frequently isolated serogroup from patients was not isolated from chickens. No Campylobacters were isolated from 71 farm family members.

Yoghurt: an unlikely source of Campylobacter jejuni/coli.

Knowledge of the relative insensitivity of Campylobacter jejuni to moderately acid environments prompted us to study its survival in different batches of yoghurt of pH range 4.2-5.3 and the role of organic or inorganic acid in the die-off of this pathogen. None of the 11 strains of C. jejuni or C. coli survived more than 25 min in yoghurt. Suspecting that this rapid die-off cannot be accounted for by the pH of the yoghurt we compared the survival rates of C. jejuni in milk, whose pH had been adjusted by lactic, propionic and hydrochloric acid respectively, with that of yoghurt. Even for an inoculum of 10(5)-10(8) cfu/ml propionic acid was bactericidal in minutes. Lactic acid reduced the bacterial populations by 3-5 logs in 30 min. Strong inorganic acid HCl, by contrast, had little or no effect on the populations. Although lactic acid is quite bactericidal for C. jejuni, it is apparently not the only factor to which the prompt elimination of this pathogen from yoghurt could be attributed.