Awoyale Wasiu, Asiedu Robert, Kawalawu William K C, Maziya-Dixon Busie, Abass Adebayo, Edet Michael, Adetunji Medinat O
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Central Agricultural Research Institute Compound Suakoko Bong County Liberia.
Department of Food Science and Technology Kwara State University Ilorin Kwara State Nigeria.
Food Sci Nutr. 2017 Nov 20;6(1):62-66. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.527. eCollection 2018 Jan.
Cassava is a staple mostly eaten in the form of , after rice in Liberia. The local method of processing often leads to product contamination, thus, a study was done to assess the heavy metals and microbial contamination of gari in eight counties of the country. A total of sixty-one samples were collected and packaged in an airtight polyethylene bag for analyses, using standard methods. Results depict that the mean of the heavy metals in the samples is iron (Fe) 43.87 ppm, copper (Cu) 0.94 ppm, zinc (Zn) 5.49 ppm and aluminum (Al) 257.45 ppm. Yellow had the highest Fe (64.90 ppm), Cu (1.25 ppm) and Zn (7.85 ppm) content, but with the least Al content (87.15 ppm). The Fe content was lower in groundnut-fortified (42.93 ppm), and the Cu (0.70 ppm) and Zn (3.50 ppm) content were lower in groundnut-moringa-fortified . The samples and counties have no significant statistical effect ( > .05) on the heavy metals composition of the products. No microbial growth was observed in groundnut-fortified and groundnut-moringa-fortified but with coconut-fortified having the highest total fungi count of 800 CFU/g. The major fungi identified in the samples are and spps., but with their counts within the regulated level. Therefore, the gari consumed in Liberia are safe except for the high Fe and Al content, which needs to be addressed with the use of unpainted stainless steel materials as food contact surfaces.
木薯是利比里亚仅次于大米的主要主食。当地的加工方法常常导致产品污染，因此，开展了一项研究以评估该国八个县木薯粉的重金属和微生物污染情况。共采集了61个样本，用标准方法将其包装在密封的聚乙烯袋中进行分析。结果显示，样本中重金属的平均含量为铁（Fe）43.87ppm、铜（Cu）0.94ppm、锌（Zn）5.49ppm和铝（Al）257.45ppm。黄色木薯粉的铁（64.90ppm）、铜（1.25ppm）和锌（7.85ppm）含量最高，但铝含量最低（87.15ppm）。花生强化木薯粉中的铁含量较低（42.93ppm），花生-辣木强化木薯粉中的铜（0.70ppm）和锌（3.50ppm）含量较低。样本和各县对产品的重金属成分没有显著的统计影响（P>0.05）。在花生强化木薯粉和花生-辣木强化木薯粉中未观察到微生物生长，但椰子强化木薯粉的总真菌计数最高，为800CFU/g。在木薯粉样本中鉴定出的主要真菌是曲霉属和青霉属，但它们的计数在规定水平之内。因此，利比里亚食用的木薯粉是安全的，除了铁和铝含量较高，这需要使用未涂漆的不锈钢材料作为食品接触表面来解决。
