Comprehensive quality and potential hazards of gowe, a malted and fermented cereal beverage from West Africa. A diagnostic for a future re-engineering ,

Abstract

Gowe is a very popular traditional fermented and non-alcoholic cereal beverage in Benin. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the physical-chemical properties, nutritional and anti-nutrient composition, microbiological safety and mycotoxin occurrence in the various types of gowe. Six to nine samples from four types of technologies were analyzed for the various aspects of quality. Proximate composition, physical properties (particle size, viscosity), nutritional (amino-acid profile) and antinutritional (tannin, phytate, and cyanide levels) properties of gowe resulting from the different traditional processes are quite similar except for the physical properties, the differences of which originate from the raw materials and the diverse cooking conditions. The main hazard of traditional gowe are potential mycotoxin contamination, and presence of cyanogenic compounds, which are linked to raw material contamination and the malting step, and occurrence of E. coli and Enterobacteriacae (gowe is free from other pathogens), linked to inappropriate handling and to the packaging material. The main defects are low a-amylase activity of malt linked to poor control of the malting process, low content of several essential amino-acids in the raw materials and which is deteriorated by the cooking step. Several potential solutions are discussed for paving the way for upgrading and re-engineering