Industrialization of Fermented Food Processes: How Far in Nigeria?

Abstract

Studies on selected fermented foods, indigenous to Nigeria, viz. ogi, gari, fufu, lafun, iru, ogiri, ugba and okpeye, are reviewed. A brief description about their production process is presented. The evaluation about their commercialisation is given. It is observed that only iru, ogi and gari have been commercialised to some extent, the other products are still made as a traditional family art. Efforts made so far towards identifying the microorganisms implicated and the biochemical changes that occur, are described. It is pointed out that areas such as development of appropriate starter cultures, effect of process variables and scale-up strategies need further investigations.