Energy bar from a composite of unripe banana, sesame, and semolina flours: Development, sensory evaluation, proximate analysis, and keeping quality evaluation

Background: Globally, the popularity and market for energy bars steadily increases, especially with increasing urbanisation. Fresh bananas suffer much postharvest losses mainly due to their short green life. Semolina, a by-product of wheat is usually destined to waste despite its nutritional profile. Objective: The present study aimed at developing an energy bar from a composite of unripe banana (Musa accuminata), sesame (Sesanum indicum) and semolina flours, assessing the consumer acceptability and determining the nutrient plus keeping quality of the most accepted formulation. Methodology: A total of five energy bars from different composite flour formulations namely; A (20:20:60), B (20:10:70), C (10:10:80), D (30:30:40), and E (10:30:60) for unripe banana flour: sesame flour: semolina flour respectively were developed and tested for consumer acceptability using a nine-point hedonic scale. The most accepted energy bar formulation was further profiled for its proximate composition, selected minerals’ content, and keeping quality using standard AOAC protocols. Results: Formulation D provided the most accepted energy bar regarding the texture, taste, plus overall acceptability, whereas the least accepted sample for most sensory attributes was from formulation A. No significant difference existed in colour for all the formulations. The most accepted energy bar contained 5.72% moisture, 1.02% ash, 5.39% crude protein, 2.94% crude fat, and 4.33% dietary fibre.This energy bar provided a high percentage of carbohydrates and energy value i.e. 72.98% and 1440 KJ/100g (360 calories) respectively. Its mineral analysis revealed 110.51mg/100g of calcium, 38.407 mg/100g of iron, and 399.291 mg/100g of potassium. Indices for the keeping quality of the most accepted energy bar showed a peroxide value of 1.87 and a free fatty acids content of 0.33. Conclusion: This study developed a calories-rich energy bar which can be quickly utilised to fuel plus replenish the body in periods of high energy demand or as an energy-dense snack for people who dont have enough time for meal preparation, manifested in its high carbohydrate content and energy value obtained. Other than increasing the accessibility to cheap high-energy food sources, the present study showed potential of reducing post harvest losses of unripe bananas.