Vendors' handling practices of edible long-horned grasshoppers (Ruspolia differens) products and implications on microbial safety.

Edible grasshopper, Ruspolia ruspolia, has nutritional and cherished cultural and economic importance to people from diverse cultures, particularly in over 20 African countries. It is consumed at home or commercially traded as sautéed, deep-fried, or boiled products. However, there is limited information on the hygiene practices of the vendors and the implications on the microbial safety of the final product. This research aimed at assessing the food safety knowledge, handling practices and shelf life of edible long-horned grasshopper products among vendors and the microbial safety of ready-to-eat products sold in 12 different markets in Uganda. Samples of raw, deep-fried and boiled grasshoppers were randomly collected from 74 vendors (62% street and 38% market vendors) and subjected to microbial analysis. Over 85% of the vendors surveyed had no public health food handler's certificate and >95% had limited post-harvest handling knowledge. Total aerobic bacteria (7.30-10.49 Log10 cfu/g), Enterobacteriaceae (5.53-8.56 Log10 cfu/g), yeasts and molds (4.96-6.01 Log10 cfu/g) total counts were significantly high and above the acceptable Codex Alimentarius Commission and Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) limits for ready-to-eat food products. Eight key pathogenic bacteria responsible for foodborne diseases were detected and these isolates were characterized as Bacillus cereus, Hafnia alvei, Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus aureus, S. xylosus, S. scuiri, S. haemolyticus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Findings from this study highlight the urgent need to create local and national food safety policies for the edible grasshopper "nsenene" subsector to regulate and guide street and market vending along the value chain, to prevent the transmission of foodborne diseases to consumers.

Risks of Anaemia Among Pre-School Children Following Maternal Nutrition Education and Counselling in Urban Informal Settlements of Nairobi, Kenya.

Slum environment may pose risk to child health and nutrition. This study assessed the risks of anemia among under five-year-old children, five years after implementing a nutrition education and counseling intervention in two urban slums in Nairobi, Kenya. A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2018 as a follow-up of a randomized controlled study carried out between 2012-2015. A trained nurse measured hemoglobin levels of 438 children from households which participated in the initial study. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify risks of anemia. The mean (+SD) age of the children was 55.9 (5.3) months and mean (+SD) hemoglobin was 10.7 (1.5) g/dL. Anemia prevalence was 59.8%, 33.9% had mild, 24.7% moderate, and 1.2% severe anemia. Absence of home toilet (AOR = 3.31; 95% CI, 1.20-9.09), household which paid to use a toilet facility (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.12-3.08), child's frequency of eating colored fruits and vegetables (AOR = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.08-0.96), meat and meat products (AOR = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.23-6.01), number of meals a child aged <15years ate a day preceding the study (AOR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.14-1.98), and a mother who had a history of anemia (AOR = 2.89; 95% CI, 1.22-12.01), were factors significantly associated with child's anemia status. The environment of urban informal settings influences child anemia status. Further studies with interventions are therefore required in order to improve sanitation facilities and access to meats, fruits, and vegetables in urban slums through innovative kitchen gardens and small animal husbandry.

Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in raw milk traded in peri-urban Nairobi, and the effect of boiling and fermentation.

Background: Dairy production in Kenya is important and dominated by small-holder farmers who market their produce through small-scale traders in the informal sector. Method: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of aflatoxin (AFM1) in informally marketed milk in peri-urban Nairobi, Kenya, and to assess knowledge of milk traders on aflatoxins using questionnaires. A total of 96 samples were analyzed for AFM1 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, boiling and fermentation experiments were carried out in the laboratory. Results: All samples had AFM1 above the limit of detection (5 ng/kg) (mean of 290.3 ± 663.4 ng/kg). Two-thirds of the samples had AFM1 levels above 50 ng/kg and 7.5% of the samples exceeded 500 ng/kg. Most of the traders had low (69.8%) or medium (30.2%) knowledge. Educated (p = 0.01) and female traders (p= 0.04) were more knowledgeable. Experimentally, fermenting milk to lala (a traditional fermented drink) and yogurt significantly reduced AFM1 levels (p< 0.01) (71.8% reduction in lala after incubation at room temperature for 15 h, and 73.6% reduction in yogurt after incubation at 45ºC for 4h). Boiling had no effect. Conclusion: The study concluded that the prevalence of raw milk with AFM1 was high, while knowledge was low. Fermentation reduced the AFM1 levels.

Household dietary exposure to aflatoxins from maize and maize products in Kenya.

Aflatoxicosis has repeatedly affected Kenyans, particularly in the eastern region, due to consumption of contaminated maize. However, save for the cases of acute toxicity, the levels of sub-lethal exposure have not been adequately assessed. It is believed that this type of exposure does exist even during the seasons when acute toxicity does not occur. This study, therefore, was designed to assess the exposure of households to aflatoxins through consumption of maize and maize products. Twenty samples each of maize kernels, muthokoi and maize meal were randomly sampled from households in Kibwezi District of Makueni County in Eastern Kenya and analysed for aflatoxin contamination. The samples were quantitatively analysed for aflatoxin contamination using HPLC. The uncertainty and variability in dietary exposure was quantitatively modelled in Ms Excel using Monte Carlo simulation in @Risk software. Aflatoxins were found in 45% of maize kernels at between 18 and 480 µg kg⁻¹, 20% of muthokoi at between 12 and 123 µg kg⁻¹, and 35% of maize meal at between 6 and 30 µg kg⁻¹. The mean dietary exposure to aflatoxin in maize kernels was 292 ± 1567 ng kg⁻¹ body weight day⁻¹, while the mean dietary exposure to aflatoxin in maize meal and muthokoi were 59 ± 62 and 27 ± 154 ng kg⁻¹ body weight day⁻¹ respectively. The results showed that the amount and frequency of consumption of the three foods is the more important contributing factor than the mean aflatoxin concentration levels, to the risk of dietary exposure to aflatoxins.

Antioxidant and type 2 diabetes related functional properties of phytic acid extract from Kenyan local food ingredients: effects of traditional processing methods.

Emerging scientific evidences reveal that phytic acid has several positive effects on human health. The antioxidant and type 2 diabetes related enzyme inhibition properties of phytic acid extract prepared from raw and traditionally processed local grains and vegetables collected from Kenya were evaluated. Phytic acid content of raw grains and vegetables ranged between 2.81-3.01 and 0.29-3.23 g/100 g DM, respectively. The phytic acid extract from raw samples revealed 59%-89% of DPPH radical scavenging capacity, 27-3,526 mmol Fe(II)/g extract of reducing power, 20%-72% of α-amylase inhibition activity and 8%-91% of α-glucosidase inhibition activity. Cooking and roasting improved the antioxidant and health relevant functionality of phytic acid extracts obtained from Kenyan local vegetables and grains, respectively.

Flavonoid content in ethanolic extracts of selected raw and traditionally processed indigenous foods consumed by vulnerable groups of Kenya: antioxidant and type II diabetes-related functional properties.

The present study evaluated the flavonoid content, antioxidant as well as type II diabetes-related enzyme inhibition activities of ethanolic extract of certain raw and traditionally processed indigenous food ingredients including cereals, legumes, oil seeds, tubers, vegetables and leafy vegetables, which are commonly consumed by vulnerable groups in Kenya. The vegetables exhibited higher flavonoid content (50-703 mg/100 g) when compared with the grains (47-343 mg/100 g). The ethanolic extract of presently studied food ingredients revealed 33-93% DPPH radical scavenging capacity, 486-6,389 mmol Fe(II)/g reducing power, 19-43% α-amylase inhibition activity and 14-68% α-glucosidase inhibition activity. Among the different food-stuffs, the drumstick and amaranth leaves exhibited significantly higher flavonoid content with excellent functional properties. Roasting of grains and cooking of vegetables were found to be suitable processing methods in preserving the functional properties. Hence, such viable processing techniques for respective food samples will be considered in the formulation of functional supplementary foods for vulnerable groups in Kenya.