BACKGROUND: The effect of fermentation process on total cyanides content reduction and pasting properties of cassava flour was evaluated. The fermentation process studied was spontaneous fermentation (SF) and the fermentation with the addition of mixed-starter at the 0 hour of fermentation (FAS). Unfermented cassava flour (UCF) was also produced to serve as a control. Total cyanides and pasting properties of flours from the fermented cassava were compared with unfermented flour. RESULTS: The results showed that the addition of mixed-starter effected a significant reduction in total cyanides level (79.6% to 99%) depending on the fermentation period. Pasting properties of cassava flour were also affected by fermentation process. SF flour paste (stability ratio = 0.6) was more resistant to shear thinning than FAS and UCF (stability ratio = 0.5) indicating that, SF flour has the ability to withstand severe processing conditions better than FAS and UCF pastes. Fermentation up to 48 h had resulted in cassava flour SF having a higher peak viscosity value (6615 cP), but did not affect the tendency to retrograde. CONCLUSION: The use of mixed-starter in fermentation greatly reduced cyanide intake of the population in Africa and has potential to eliminate Konzo without significant modifications of flour properties.
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