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Summary: There is growing interest in Sub‐Saharan Africa for substituting maize with climate‐smart crops like sorghum and millets in local food processing. We conducted a survey to explore current variations in processing and consumption practices for Mahewu, a traditionally fermented cereal beverage from Zimbabwe. Processing involved cooking a cereal porridge, adding cereal flour or malt as a starter ingredient, and fermenting for 12–48 h. Ingredient availability was the main driver for porridge ingredient choice (42% of respondents) with the most preferred being maize (55% of respondents), pearl millet (22%) and sorghum (9%). Final product taste had the most influence on starter ingredient choice, with most respondents preferring pearl millet flour (23%), finger millet malt (22%), wheat flour (17%), and sorghum malt (13%). Our study proves that maize can be replaced with sorghum and millet in Mahewu processing, thus increasing the climate‐resilience of future food systems, and demonstrates that traditional practices harbour clues for adapting current practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is an indigenous legume crop, cultivated by subsistence farmers throughout sub-Saharan countries. Research findings indicate that the crop has great nutritional and agronomic potential, but it remains scientifically neglected. A baseline study was conducted in seven districts in semi-arid regions of rural Zimbabwe to gather knowledge on current production and utilization of bambara groundnut, assess its role in providing sustainable food and nutrition security for rural populations and determine priorities for follow-up research. Results revealed a variety of bambara groundnut processing techniques, which included boiling, soaking, roasting and milling across the surveyed districts. Reported constraints to processing and consumption included long cooking time, difficulties with milling and high firewood and water requirements. Fifty to eighty percent of respondents in all districts consumed bambara groundnut once or twice weekly from August to December. Preferred consumer attributes were taste, the satiating effect, nutritional benefits or a combination of these. Current, culturally acceptable processing techniques need improvement to support sustainable bambara groundnut processing while optimising nutrient bio-accessibility. Ultimately, community resilience to food and nutrition insecurity can be promoted by exchange of bambara groundnut processing knowledge amongst the production areas, involving the different stakeholders in the food supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated processing technology, composition, and socioeconomic significance of mutandabota, a food product made by mixing cow's or goat's milk with dry baobab fruit pulp. Mutandabota production is a gendered activity dominated by women. Nutrient content was (g 100 g−1w.b) protein 4.8 ± 1, fat 2.8 ± 0.9, fiber 1.1 ± 0.4, ash 0.9 ± 0.2, carbohydrates 20 ± 1.7, moisture 70.4 ± 3.7, and vitamin C 80 ± 25 mg/100g. Microbiological load (log cfu ml−1) was high, 4.7 ± 1.2 mesophilic bacteria, 5.3 ± 2.1 lactic acid bacteria, and 5.0 ± 1.3 yeasts and molds. The pH of milk was 6.7 and the final pH of mutandabota was 3.5 ± 0.1. Mutandabota is a major source of proteins and vitamin C. Its microbiological quality needs evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food safety outbreaks are recurrent events, which regularly cost human lives. Food safety goes beyond food safety management systems; an organisation's prevailing food safety culture, and its internal and external environment must also be considered. This study introduces a research framework to analyse crucial food safety culture elements, and characteristics of the internal (i.e. food safety program, product riskiness, and vulnerability of food production system) and the external company environment (i.e. national values and food safety governance characteristics). We hypothesised that companies producing high-risk products are more likely to demonstrate a proactive food safety culture. We used the framework to assess nine companies producing low, medium, and high-risk products in Zimbabwe, as a case of a transition economy. Results showed no direct relationship between product riskiness and food safety culture, which negated our hypothesis. Other variables explored in this study could have moderated the relationship. We found that the vulnerability (i.e. susceptibility to microbial contamination) of the food production system could be associated with an organisation's food safety culture. Moreover, the external environment could have shaped the prevailing food safety culture. In particular, food safety governance and national values seem to be reflected in the way food safety was prioritised, food safety programs were designed and implemented, the prevailing food safety culture, and the observed food safety behaviour. Further research could investigate the role of the external environment in an organisation's food safety culture by evaluating companies in countries operating with different food safety governance approaches and national values. • Prevailing food safety culture seems independent of product riskiness. • Food safety governance could explain the prevailing food safety culture. • Multinational companies have a better food safety culture than local companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A probiotic dairy product was developed on the basis of a traditional dish called mutandabota to enable resource-poor populations in southern Africa to benefit from a functional food. Mutandabota is widely consumed in rural southern Africa, making it an ideal food matrix to carry probiotics. First, a process to produce probiotic mutandabota was designed. Raw cow milk was boiled and subsequently cooled to ambient temperature (25°C). Next, dry pulp from the fruit of the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) was added to the milk at a concentration of 4% (wt/vol). This mixture was inoculated with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus yoba and left to ferment for 24h, while the growth of the bacterial culture was monitored. Final ingredients were then added to produce probiotic mutandabota that had 14% (wt/vol) baobab fruit pulp and 7% (wt/vol) sugar in cow milk. The pH of probiotic mutandabota was pH 3.5, which ensures that the product is microbiologically safe. The viable plate count of L. rhamnosus yoba increased from 5.8 ± 0.3 log cfu/mL at the point of inoculation to 8.8 ± 0.4 log cfu/mL at the moment of consumption, thereby meeting the criterion to have a viable count of the probiotic bacterium in excess of 6 log cfu/mL of a product. Baobab fruit pulp at 4% promoted growth of L. rhamnosus yoba with a maximal specific growth rate (μmax) of 0.6 ± 0.2/h at 30°C. The developed technology, though specific for this particular product, has potential to be applied for the delivery of probiotics through a variety of indigenous foods in different regions of the world. Upon consumption, probiotic mutandabota is expected to improve the population's intestinal health, which is especially relevant for vulnerable target groups such as children and elderly people., (Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)