| dc.description.abstract | -A high-calorie food gives more energy and extra nutrition for human to heal from ailments. These foods
can be used to supply adequate nutrition for athletes and calamity victims who faced disaster situations and are
not accessible for food. Hence, the objective of this study was to develop a high energy biscuit using locally
available raw materials to use as an emergency food. The biscuit was developed using pearl millet flour, pearl millet
grits, corn flour, wheat flour and other basic ingredients used for biscuits. The biscuit was evaluated for proximate
composition; chemical, physical, sensory characteristics and the calorific value. Biscuit contained 447 kcal/ 100
(High calorie, Energy > 300 kcal/kg) with a net weight of 5g each. Analysis of proximate composition resulted
moisture;3.63±0.1% , ash;2.47±0.8% , fat;16.88±0.1%, protein;6.54±1.6%, fiber;0.98±0.9 % , dietary fiber
;3.51±0.03% and available carbohydrate; 67.39±0.1%. An accelerated shelf life was carried out for 12 weeks, storing
the High calorie biscuit under four different temperatures (28°C±2, 37°C±2, 42°C±2, 50°C±2). Moisture content was
significantly increased (p<0.05) and the free fatty acid content was not significantly (p>0.05) increased during the
shelf life period of six months. Microbial counts, total plate count, coliform, yeast and mold were not detected in
the high calorie biscuit throughout the shelf life period. The low water activity, aw 0.17±0.01 observed in the biscuit
is an added advantage to extend the shelf life for six months at 28°C ±1 of storage with no added preservatives and
other food additives. | |
