Characterizing quality traits of boiled yam: texture and taste for enhanced breeding efficiency and impact.

Background: Boiled yam key quality attributes typical for West African consumers are that it is crumbly, easy to break and has a sweet taste. New yam varieties are being developed but high- or medium-throughput tools to assess the required quality traits and their range of acceptance are limited. This study assessed the acceptance thresholds of these quality attributes and established predictive models for screening yam varieties that meet the required consumer preferences.

Comparison of Micronutrient Intervention Strategies in Ghana and Benin to Cover Micronutrient Needs: Simulation of Bene-Fits and Risks in Women of Reproductive Age.

Overlapping micronutrient interventions might increase the risk of excessive micronutrient intake, with potentially adverse health effects. To evaluate how strategies currently implemented in Benin and Ghana contribute to micronutrient intake in women of reproductive age (WRA), and to assess the risk for excess intakes, scenarios of basic rural and urban diets were built, and different on-going interventions were added. We estimated micronutrient intakes for all different scenarios.

Effect of Planting Density and KO:N Ratio on the Yield, External Quality, and Traders' Perceived Shelf Life of Pineapple Fruits in Benin.

Quality, shelf life, and yield of a pineapple fruit are the important attributes for the producers and customers in the pineapple value chain of Benin, whereas poor quality, short shelf life, and low yield are the main constraints. We quantified the effects of planting density and KO:N fertilizer ratio on the pineapple yield, external quality, and perceived shelf life in four on-farm experiments with cv. Sugarloaf in Benin; two experiments were installed in the long rainy season and two in the short rainy season.

Boiled yam end-user preferences and implications for trait evaluation.

This study aimed to establish the quality characteristics of raw and boiled yam by involving stakeholders along the food chain using a methodology that includes a state of knowledge review, focus group discussion and individual interviews, participatory processing diagnosis with processors and consumer testing. Predictive characteristics of yam for producing a high- and low-quality boiled yam were related to morphological or physicochemical characteristics: peeled yam discoloration and mucilage content being negatively appreciated while the ease of peeling, viscous state of cooking water and the ease of breaking yam into pieces positively valued. High-quality boiled yam should be white or yellowish, sticky to the fingers, nonfibrous, easy to chew, crumbly/friable, with a sweet taste and a good smell.

Safety of ready-to-eat chicken in Burkina Faso: Microbiological quality, antibiotic resistance, and virulence genes in isolated from chicken samples of Ouagadougou.

In Burkina Faso, flamed/grilled chickens are very popular and well known to consumers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality, the antibiotic resistance, and the virulence gene from isolated from these chickens in Ouagadougou. A total of 102 grilled, flamed, and fumed chickens were collected in Ouagadougou and analyzed, using standard microbiological methods.