Background: Maize is the major food staple in East and Southern Africa, where food-processing industries are emerging fast. New low-cost extrusion cookers allow small enterprises to enter the market for processed cereals, including instant, fortified, and flavored products. Objective: Assess consumers’ interest and preferences for the new products. Methods: Consumers (n = 220) in Eldoret, Kenya, were invited to evaluate 4 new cereal products: (1) sifted maize flour mixed with sorghum, (2) instant sifted mixed flour, (3) instant whole flour, and (4) instant whole flour fortified with natural ingredients and to compare them to conventional sifted maize flour, using 2 preparations: stiff porridge ( ugali) and soft porridge ( uji). These were followed by economic experiments to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the new products and traits. Results: For ugali, consumers preferred conventional sifted maize flour, while for uji, they appreciated the new products, especially sifted mixed flour (with sorghum) and instant whole mixed flour. Fortification with food-to-food sources was not appreciated, especially for ugali. Comparing WTP for the traits with their production cost showed that mixed, whole, and instant flours were economical, but not fortification. Maize/sorghum mixtures realized a benefit of 24% over conventional maize flour, whole meal 11%, and instant mixtures 5%. Conclusions: There is a potential market for improved cereal products in Kenya, but more for uji than for ugali, especially with instant, mixed, and whole flour. Acceptable and affordable products, fortified with other foods that are locally available, however, still need to be developed, especially for ugali.

A mixed modes solar dryer was modified from a Horticultural Innovation Laboratory design and its performance compared to a direct mode solar dryer to process horticultural crops. The mixed modes and the direct mode solar dryers dried vegetables at different rates with the mixed modes being faster for all products (p ≤ .001). Leaves and flowers of the spider plant (Cleome gynandra) had the shortest drying time (270 ± 6 min) while the fruit of the African bird's eye chili (Capsicum frutescens) took the longest time (3,866 ± 31 min). Moisture content of the dried vegetables met the industry standard for dehydrated fruits and vegetables (≤8.4%) and of chilies which had a moisture content of (9.5 ± 0.15%). This low cost mixed modes dryer is suitable for small‐scale vegetable processors and farmers as it does not require grid electricity to operate. Practical applications Fruits and vegetable production is a key economic activity in Kenya. To preserve such produce, farmers practice open sun drying which not only takes longer to dry produce than solar dryers but is also prone to contamination from flies and dust. Prolonged drying times result in products with inconsistent colors and lower nutritional value. Yet, there are simple low cost mixed modes dryers that can be used to dry fruits and vegetables faster than open‐air solar drying. The study aimed at providing local farmers with a modified mixed modes solar dryer to quickly dry fresh produce with a minimal loss of nutrients and color retention in the final product. Globally, such a dryer can be used as one of the simplest innovations toward reduction of postharvest food losses of fruits and vegetables.

Intervention using blended composite flours can reduce malnutrition in sub Saharan Africa. Prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition among the vulnerable children has necessitated research on cost effective food product development like food to food fortification of common staples like sorghum. An investigation was carried out on the nutritional properties of selected sorghum composite flours for the production of porridge for both home and industrial applications. In this study, composite flours V1 to V4 were made from sorghum, maize, grain amaranth, baobab and butternut at different rations; V1-(42.5:22.5:5:15:15),V2-(22.5:42.5:5:15:15), V3-(32.5:32.5:5:15:15) and V4-(65:0:5:15:15) were compared against composite flours AV1 to AV4 made from sorghum, cassava, chickpea, orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) and baobab; AV1-(42.5:22.5:5:15:15) AV2-(22.5:42.5:5:15:15), AV3-(32.5:32.5:5:15:15) and AV4-(65:0:5:15:15). Standard methods were used in determining the chemical characteristics of the composite flours. Composite flour formulations were based on Concept4â creative software. Results on proximate composition indicated a significant (p < 0.05) difference in moisture content of the control composite (V5) and the other composite flours with the moisture content ranging from 9.1% to 12.1% in V5 and V3 respectively. Carbohydrates were the most abundant nutrient in the composite flours 66.0 to 72.7% in V1 and V5 respectively, followed by fat 5.5% (AV3) to 9.2% (AV1), protein 5.1 (AV2) to 8.6% (AV4), crude fibre 1.5 (V2) to 4.3% (V5), and ash 1.4 (AV1) to 2.8% (AV4). The total energy ranged between 359.25 kcal (V4) to 379.94 kcal (V1) however, these values were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Zinc, calcium and magnesium concentration were significantly different (p <0.05) between the sorghum-maize-grain amaranth-baobab-butternut, on one hand and sorghum-cassava-chickpea-OFSP-baobab composite flours on the other. The concentrations of phosphorus and Iron were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed significant negative correlation between crude protein and fibre (-0.512, p ≤ 0.001) and crude protein and iron (-0.386, p ≤ 0.047), whereas crude protein and magnesium had a significant positive correlation (0.455, p ≤ 0.017). The results indicate that both categories of flour composites have the potential to improve nutritional status of consumers. Thus, consumption of V1 and V4 composite flours with a protein content of 8.1% and 8.6% maybe encouraged for children aged 6 - 59 months who need products with good nutritional composition for proper growth and development.

High prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition among the vulnerable population, especially children has prompted research on fortification of common staple cereal foods such as rice. However, rice has inferior nutritional value compared to other popular cereals, such as maize, therefore limiting its full utilization. Its storage protein, glutelins, is not easily digested by monogastric animals; therefore, food to food fortification of rice flours provides protein nutritional compensation as well as improvement of other nutrients. This study was carried out to determine the proximate and mineral (Fe, Zn, Mg, Ca, P) composition of rice composite flours. Methodology: The blending ratios (rice: maize: sorghum: pumpkin: carrots: baobab: amaranth) used in the study were 70:0:0:7.5:7.5:5:10 (AT1), 45.5:24.5:0:7.5:7.5:5:10 (AT2), 35:35:0:7.5:7.5:5:10 (AT3), 23.3:23.3:23.3:7.5:7.5:5:10 (AT4) and 100% rice flour (AT5). Proximate analyses were performed according to Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC) methods. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the minerals. Data analysis was done using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Mean comparisons for treatments were done using Bonferroni tests and significance level was set at P≤0.05. Findings: Moisture content of the composite flours ranged from 10.87 to12.55% and was significantly different (p<0.05). Ash content was not significantly different (p<0.05) and ranged between 1.08 and 1.85%. The fat content ranged between 5.38 and 10.67%; with AT4 having the highest and AT5 having the least fat content. The carbohydrate content was significantly (p<0.05) different among the flour; ranging between 66.65 and 73.51%. Crude fibre ranged between 1.42 and -2.20%, whereas the protein content ranged from 6.88 to 7.73%. Iron content ranged between 0.06 and 0.08 mg/100g zinc ranged from 0.19 to 0.56 mg/100g. The phosphorus content ranged from 0.07 to 0.18 mg/100g with no significant (p<0.05) difference. The calcium content was significantly (p<0.05) different among the flours and ranged from 1.41 to 1.91 mg/100g. Conclusion: The results show that the flour composites have the potential to improve nutritional status of consumers. Thus, consumption of AT1, AT4 and AT5 composite flours with a protein content of 7.3%, 7.7% and 7.4% maybe recommended for children aged 6 - 59 months in order to prevent protein-energy malnutrition.

Fortification of staple foods has the potential to alleviate micronutrient and protein energy malnutrition in sub Saharan Africa. However, natural food fortification often alters sensory attributes such as flavour, aroma, appearance, texture and other features in ways that may affect target consumer overall acceptance and willingness to purchase. This study examined urban consumers&rsquo; acceptance and likelihood to purchase wholemeal instant flours that were fortified using plant based sources. A home-use test (HUT) sensory experiment was conducted in Eldoret, Kenya among 154 urban dwellers in the middle and high level income group living in three gated estates. 5 different flour composites using sorghum, maize, baobab, orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and grain amaranth were used to make both thin (uji) and thick (ugali) porridges. The results showed that urban consumers could distinguish stiff porridge (ugali) and thin porridge (uji) made from the 5 flour varieties. They preferred uji, expressed by higher mean general acceptability scores made from all the flour varieties (M=4.15-M=3.83) to ugali (M=3.50-M=3.17), for appearance, aroma, texture in hand and mouth, significant at p &lt; 0.05. Mothers&rsquo; and childrens&rsquo; overall acceptance ratings for both sets of products did not differ, showing the ability of mothers to influence a child&rsquo;s overall acceptance of a product. Further, more than 80% consumers were likely to purchase and use the instant flour. Pearson correlation showed significant positive correlations (*P&lt;.05; &amp; **P&lt;.01), for product fit for all family, with nutritional and health benefits, and product that is introduced by a close friend as the main factors driving their likelihood of purchase. We conclude that HUT is effective for assessing consumer acceptance as far as product sensory characteristics and consumer adoption of a new product, and can be used by industry before market penetration.