Microbiological Profile and Nutritional Quality of Cereal-based Weaning Food Fortified with Soya Beans

Abstract

Weaning is a gradual process involving the introduction of complementary solid foods into an infant’s diet, as breastfeeding alone becomes insufficient to fulfil the nutritional requirements of the growing infant. One of the principal challenges encountered during the transitional weaning period is protein–energy malnutrition; therefore, there is a need to fortify weaning foods with a protein-based diet. This study was aimed at evaluating the microbiological quality and nutritional composition of fortified weaning foods. Cereal-based food was fortified with soya beans at different percentages (30-70, 50-50 and 70-30) of sorghum flour and soya bean flour, respectively; they were fermented for 7days. Microbiological and proximate analyses were conducted using standard methods. The bacteria count ranged from SSBA, which had the highest bacteria count of 4.5×103 cfu/ml on day 1, while sample SSBC had the lowest count with 1.7×103cfu/ml on day 7. The bacteria isolated were Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli, Bacillus subtilis and Lactobacillus spp. Crude protein, Fat, and ash content increased in percentage as the soya bean seed flour in the composite blends increased. The protein content rose with increased fermentation. Samples SSBC had the highest protein concentration (32.37%) after 7days while in sample SSBA the lowest protein concentration of 4.99% was found on day 1. Overall, the research demonstrated that soya beans can be utilised to create complementary foods that meet the recommended dietary allowance for infants at a level that is acceptable when compared to traditional cereal-based foods.