Jam making and packaging in Nigeria, Sub-Sahara Africa: A review

Abstract

During the period of fruit glut, a considerable quantity of fresh fruits get easily spoilt and thrown away due to the highly perishable nature of the commodity. Several methods abound to process fresh fruits into products that are much more shelf-stable and available all year round. One of such method is processing of the fruit in high sugar content to obtain a fruit preserve like Jam. This paper reviews the current practices in local Jam making and the challenge of easy availability of adequate appropriate packaging for commercial production of Jam in developing economy like Nigeria, wherein small scale producers cannot easily afford the usual foreign glass jars that are mostly used by large corporations. It also highlights the need for exploration of other possible available local packages that can be adopted successfully for commercial purposes.