Assessment Of The Nutritional And Compositional Levels Of Cassava Pasta Production: Promotion Of Healthy Traditional Root Tubers

Abstract

One surety to motivate people to consume cassava pasta could massively be made a reality if consumers have a fair idea about the nutritional components of pasta made from tubers. The main objective of the study was to produce pasta from agra bankye and esam bankye, assess their physicochemical properties and compare their results to wheat flour. The experimental research design was used to produce agra and esam bankye flour and a formulation ratio was derived to produce three different pasta. Duplicate samples were physicochemically assessed to ascertain the proximate and mineral components. Data was analysed to unearth the nutritional status of the three samples. A formulation ratio of flour: egg: salt: water with slight variation was used to produce pasta from agra bankye, esam bankye and hard flour. The three samples of pasta all contain moisture, ash, total fat, protein, crude fibre, total carbohydrate, energy, iron, calcium, starch and manganese. All people who require higher intake of ash should consume more agra bankye pasta. The higher intake of esam bankye pasta provides consumers with crude fibre, total carbohydrate, starch, calcium and iron. The higher moisture reduces the lifespan of hard flour, whilst consumers requiring higher fat, protein and manganese ought to consume the old age pasta made from hard flour. Consumption of traditional pasta from cassava (bankye) should be produced on a large scale for the masses.