Abstract

Eating snacks during lunch periods has become a way of life for school children and the busy working class people in most urban cities in developing nations like Nigeria. Providing nutritious and healthy snacks remains a major challenge for the food industry to tackle, including the issue of sugar and carbohydrate contents in snacks which predisposes obesity. Nutritional and sensory characteristics of baked foods produced from wheat/beniseed flour composite were investigated with the aim of producing healthy and nutritious baked foods. Beniseed was substituted in wheat flour so as to increase the protein content and enhance the nutritive value of baked food produced from such composite flour. Beniseed was substituted in wheat flour at 3 levels (10%, 20%, 30%) with other ingredients to produce bread and cake. The samples were analyzed for proximate content, vitamin A and C, antinutrients, minerals and sensory properties. Proximate and mineral contents, as well as Vitamin A and C content of the bread and cake showed significant increases (P>0.05) with increase in beniseed substitution levels. The level of total oxalate and soluble oxalate significantly increased (P<0.05), while phytate and tannins significantly (P<0.05) decreased with increase in beniseed substitution level. There was no significant difference (P<0.05) in the panelist ratings for taste, color, flavor, texture and overall acceptability of 10% beniseed substitution for bread and up to 20% beniseed substitution for cake with the control. The results indicate that a healthy and nutritious snack could be produced from wheat and beniseed flour composite. This study is of public health significance in Nigeria.

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