What is Clostridium botulinum Clostridium botulinum are Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacteria with the ability to produce a neurotoxin. These bacteria are common in canned food products and therefore care must be taken especially when doing canning at home. Read more…
What is Amabere amaruranu Amabere amaruranu is a fermented milk product which is prepared by spontaneous fermentation of milk in a special gourd. Spontaneous fermentation occurs naturally without any attempt to control the fermenting microbiota. The product is usually white in Read more…
Patulin The main sources of patulin are different Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Byssochlamys species, It has been reported to be carcinogenic, and mutagenic. Important microorganisms that produce patulin include Penicillium expansum, Byssochlamys fulva, and Byssochlamys nivea. Patulin has been discovered in Read more…
Maize is a staple food for many people not just in Kenya but also around the world. According to researchers, a Kenyan would consume around 0.4kg of maize per day. Thus, the presence of toxins even in very low quantities Read more…
What is Rukuri? Rukuri is a traditional food product that consists of meat preserved in honey. Meat is usually roasted and then dipped in containers containing honey. The honey is traditionally harvested from their hives installed in their gardens as Read more…
What are non-communicable diseases? Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), sometimes referred to as chronic diseases, are conditions that develop over an extended period of time as a result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioral variables. Their cause cannot be Read more…
What is roasting Roasting is one of the oldest methods of cooking food. Many food are roasted including coffee and meat. Roasting is a heat treatment in which food is directly exposed to dry heat. Unlike other cooking methods such Read more…
What is gluten Gluten is a protein that is formed in many grains, especially in wheat, barley and rye. It’s therefore common in foods made from wheat such as bread, pasta, pizza, and cereal. This protein is not present in Read more…
We produce a lot of bananas in Kenya and we mostly only use them for cooking and or consumption as fruits when they ripen. There is very little value addition in especially trying to develop new banana based food products. Read more…
Solanum betaceum, commonly refered to as tree tomato fruit is scantly grown in Kenya and is mostly used as fresh fruit, or blended to make juice. Despite its huge potential for processing, most of these fruits are produced for household Read more…
