Development and Characterization of Fortified Ready-to-Eat Banana Porridge Flour: A Multi-Age Nutritional Intervention

Abstract

One-fifth of banana production is wasted due to failure to meet market ripening standards. This study aimed to develop ready-to-eat (RTE) green banana porridge flour and fortify it with moringa leaf powder (RTEM), hemp powder (RTEH), soybean powder (RTES), and pea powder (RTEP) to formulate nutritionally enhanced porridges for older infants, children, and adults, while assessing the structural and microbial safety of the RTE banana porridge product and the nutritional value of the porridge formulated. Green banana flour (GBF) was produced through sequential washing, peeling, slicing, oven-drying, milling, and sieving of unripe banana fruit. The GBF was cooked into porridge, oven-dried, and milled again to create dried RTE banana porridge flour. This flour was divided into two portions: one for fortification studies and another for storage stability testing under +4°C: 65% RH, +18°C: 58% RH, +30°C: 20% RH, and packaging materials over 90 days. Four protein-rich fortificants were prepared: moringa leaf powder (through leaf collection, cleaning, oven-drying, grinding, and sieving), hemp seed powder (via cleaning, dehulling, grinding, cold-pressing, and milling), soybean powder (by cleaning, boiling, soaking, oven-drying, and milling), and pea protein powder (by selecting, rinsing, soaking, drying, milling, sieving, and packing). All formulations were standardized to contain 14% protein on a dry weight basis, designed to provide 25% of the recommended daily protein intake for the target populations. Total bacterial and coliform counts of freshly prepared RTE porridge ranged from 22 ± 0.4 to 818 ± 2.8 cfu/mL and 18 ± 0.6 to 200 ± 0.5 cfu/mL, respectively, indicating safety for human consumption. GBF showed moisture content of 6.3/100 g, protein 4.23/100 g, total carbohydrate 69.15/100 g, and fiber 14.50/100 g, while RTE flour had moisture 3.4/100 g, protein 4.08/100 g, total carbohydrate 72.67/100 g, and fiber 14.57/100 g. Fortification increased protein content from 4.08 to ~14.00 g/100 g, while total starch (TS) decreased from 71.72 to 62.19 g/100 g. RTEP was identified as the superior formulation based on overall assessment.