QUALITY EVALUATION OF THE ANTINUTRIENT AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF BREAD PRODUCED FROM WHEAT-CASSAVA FLOUR FORTIFIED WITH CARROT POWDER

In many regions, malnutrition, particularly deficiencies in micronutrients like vitamin A, remains a significant public health concern therefore, fortification of staple foods, such as bread, presents a promising strategy to address these nutritional deficiencies. This study examined the antinutrient and sensory properties of bread produced from wheat-cassava flour fortified with carrot powder. Flour blends were prepared from wheat, cassava and carrot in varying proportions and used to bake bread. Anti nutrient analysis was conducted using standard laboratory techniques to determined Alkaloid Oxalate Phytate and Cyanide while sensory evaluation involved assessing the bread for taste, texture, color and overall acceptability using a nine point hedionic scale. Results for antinutrient content showed that alkaloid content ranged between 3.54-12.90 mg/100g, oxalate ranged from 2.63-8.73 mg/100g.phytate ( 2.53-2.76 mg/100g) while hydrogen cyanide ranged from 0.46-1.54mg/100g.All the values obtained were within the tolerable limit reported by FAO/WHO. Sensory evaluation results indicated that all the bread samples produced from different ratios of wheat, cassava and carrot flour blends were generally accepted in all attributes evaluated(taste, appearance, texture and general acceptability) as none scored below the minimum acceptable rating of 5 on the 9 points hedonic scale. This research work recommends Sample D(50%Wheat to 40% soyabeans to 10%maize flour blend) among the formulated blends(Sample B, C, D) because it had less of the anti nutrients evaluated and also has a general acceptability score of 7.85 out of a nine point hedionic scale.