Global Journal of Biology, Agriculture & Health Sciences

Abstract

EFFECT OF SELECTED SPICES ON FOOD SPOILAGE RATE

Wakoli AB, Onyango DAO,Rotich PJ

Food preservation aims at stopping or slowing down spoilage (loss of quality, edibility or nutritional value) of food. This study’s intent was to determine the effect of sage, ginger, cumin, garlic and mixed spice on spoilage rate of cooked pumpkin. The study used an experiment where objective evaluation and subjective evaluation were employed. A t-test was used to find significant differences and Pearson correlation for correlations at a significance level of 0.05. Findings showed a significance (p<0.05) difference in bacterial growth between the food samples with spices and the control. Of the spiced food samples, one with garlic had the lowest bacterial count (1) and took the longest time to spoil (5 days). Pearson correlation showed an inverse relationship between bacterial growth and the time taken for the food to spoil. Moreover, spices help to preserve as well as improve on the shelf life of food items.

Published Date: 2014-10-09;