Abstract

Shelf life is the recommended maximum time for which the defined quality of specified characteristics of the goods or products remains acceptable under expected (or specified) conditions of handling, storage and distribution and or display. Stability assessment of a local food supplement consisting of a premix of milled sorghum, ground nut paste, honey and cow ghee (SPB) was conducted from November 2014to January 2015. The study investigate the length of stay of SPB at ambient conditions with desirable sensory quality attributes of taste, color and texture. This was a cross sectional study design with a sensory evaluation questionnaire using a 5-point hedonic scale. Control sample was labeled as (A) and experimental (B). Sample A was freshly prepared once every week while sample B was kept constant. 24 participants with similar demographic characteristics were randomly selected to evaluated the sensory attributes of the porridges made from each sample. Only the investigator was aware of the treatment given to the participants. Sensory scores for all attributes were greater than four on a five-point hedonic scale. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in all the five attributes between the two samples in the first 5 weeks of evaluation. A significant difference was observed in color during the week 9 (P<0.02), aroma in week 6 (P < 0.01) and taste in week 7 (P< 0.01). There was no significant difference in the texture of the samples throughout the time of the study. Taste and aroma recorded the lowest scores at 3.0 and 3.7 respectively after 9 weeks. Texture did not change during study time. Honey has anti-microbial properties and its inclusion improves water-binding capacity which prolong shelf life. The length of stay of SPB at room temperature with desirable sensory quality attributes of taste, color and texture was 8 weeks. This storage time could further be increased by use of antioxidants. 

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