Camel milk is an important commodity in the arid and semi-arid lands where it forms their basic diet, a major source of income and serves significant cultural function to the pastoralists. However, camel milk production is faced with challenges that contributes to the camel milk post-harvest losses due to poor quality and safety. This study aimed at determining the risk factors that may contribute to camel milk quality losses along the Isiolo camel milk value chain. The survey data was collected through structured questionnaire and key informant interview while the microbiological counts data were determined using ISO methods. There was poor hygiene at the herd level where high Staphylococcus aureus count was found on the camel udder swab, milkers' hand swab, and milking container which recorded counts of 1.4×10 4 cfu/cm 2 , 1.5×10 4 cfu/cm 2 , and 5.9×10 3 cfu/ml, respectively. In the other chain nodes, the hygiene was significantly (p<0.05) different with milk hands of retailers around Isiolo town, at the cooling hub/bulking milk and milk retailers in Nairobi Eastleigh area recording S. aureus counts of 4.9×10 3 , 1.3×10 4 , and 3.7×10 3 cfu/cm 2 , respectively. There was problem accessing adequate potable water at the herd level than at the other chain nodes. The plastic milk containers were not disinfected with any chemical sanitizes after washing, however the smoke fumigated them. Camel disease management was poor. Both sick and health camels were milked and the milk bulked together. This therefore indicates that hygiene could be one of the most important contributor to milk deterioration along the chain. Improvement of hygiene along the Isiolo camel milk value chain can help reduce milk post-harvest losses.

French fries (chips) are increasingly becoming indispensable in menus of many restaurants and hotels in major Kenyan towns due to their relatively lower consumer prices compared to other foods. When foods are deep-oil-fried, the amount of oil absorbed by the food is important since nutritionally, the amount of oil absorbed has a marked bearing on the number of calories supplied by the food. Fried foods such as chips may contain a considerable amount of oil to such extent that their consumption is of concern to nutritionists who advocate for a decrease or an increase of fat content in the diet depending on the part of the world where they are based. Chips with lower oil content and equivalent sensory attributes are expected to be highly accepted by consumers. The influence of potato cultivar and stage of maturity on uptake of oil into chips was investigated using eight Kenyan cultivars including five varieties (Tigoni, Desiree, Dutch Robyjn, Kenya Karibu, and Kenya Sifa) and three promising potato clones coded as 393385.47, 391696.96 and 393385.39. The eight cultivars were grown under cultural standard conditions at the National Potato Research Centre, Tigoni. The crop was dehaulmed two weeks before harvesting and allowed to cure at ambient air conditions (15-19 o C/86-92 % RH) for three weeks. The potatoes were harvested at 90 or 120 days after planting. The variety of potato used had a significant effect (P≤0.05) on oil uptake, with Dutch Robyjn having the lowest oil content. The cellular structures may have affected the oil uptake into the chips by influencing solid content, moisture loss during frying or damage done to original anatomy during processing. Harvesting before maturity significantly (P≤0.05) increased oil content of chips when compared to those prepared from mature tubers. There is need for processors to wisely choose the potato cultivar in order to produce French fries with low oil content.

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Camel milk contributes up to 30% of pastoral community annual caloric intake making it one of the main diets for the pastoral community. In addition, camel milk is a major source of income and serves significant cultural functions in pastoral communities. Despite these, camel milk production and marketing is faced with a number of challenges, especially poor handling practices that contribute to high post-harvest losses due to poor quality and safety. Poor handling practices have been reported to be associated with poor knowledge and practices of food hygiene and safety among the pastoral camel milk value chain actors. The study aimed at determining the level of food hygiene and safety knowledge and practices of camel milk value chain actors. A structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect data on hygienic milk handling knowledge and practices along the camel milk value chain. Each point along the chain showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in knowledge in food safety and hygiene. The study established that herdsmen had significantly (p<0.05) lower knowledge than women retailing and collecting/ bulking milk at Isiolo town and its environs with a mean score of 49 ± 9%. The women retailing at Isiolo town scored 62 ± 9% of the food hygiene and safety questions correctly. The women at the collection/bulking centre had the highest knowledge level with a score of 69 ± 10%. The average score along Isiolo camel milk value chain was 60 ± 9%. The respondents showed low knowledge in answering questions regarding spoilage microorganisms and effective cleaning of containers. About 53% of women retailers used rejected/spoiled milk for household consumption. This could result in a high food safety risk. Therefore, training of actors along the camel milk value chain could be the best way to improving their knowledge on food safety and hygiene.

Losses of potatoes are incurred during seasons of glut and farmers are forced to sell their produce to middlemen at low prices due to short storage life of the raw tubers. Processing potatoes after harvesting into dehydrated products such as potato flakes is one of the ways to overcome the problem of inadequate and inappropriate bulk storage of raw potatoes. Potato flakes are known to be shelf stable and hence assure users of the availability of the produce all year round. This study was instituted to establish the potential of processing potato flakes from selected popular Kenyan potato varieties. Five potato varieties (Tigoni, Dutch Robjin, Desiree, Kenya Mpya, and Sherekea) which are popular commercially were used in this study. The varieties were harvested after maturity and processed into potato flakes before evaluation of retained vitamin C, color, oil and moisture content, and sensory attributes. The varieties used in this study had dry matter contents ranging from 18.2% to 23.7%. Oil content of the flakes was significantly (P≤0.05) lower in Dutch Robjin (0.23%) compared to Desiree (0.76%). Oil content of flakes significantly (p=0.011) but negatively correlated (r=-0.956) with dry matter content of the raw potatoes. Reduced ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in raw tubers differed significantly (P≤0.05) among the varieties ranging from 90.37 mg/100g in Kenya Mpya to 127.56 mg/100g in Sherekea. The vitamin decreased in flakes, the reduction being higher in Kenya Mpya (60.34%) and Sherekea (71.71%) compared to Tigoni (18.15%) and Desiree (23.26%). Overall, Dutch Robjin was the best variety for flakes followed by Desiree and Tigoni with regard to overall acceptability. Sherekea was unacceptable while Kenya Mpya was barely acceptable. Promotion of these varieties for flakes processing will not only diversify the range of potato products, but also add value to local potatoes.