Food Values, Spoilage Moulds and Aflatoxin Detection in Attieke (A Cassava Fermented Product)

Derived foods from root and tuber crops, Attieke for example, are often consumed by African populace. Attieke is processed from Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Based on different methods adopted for its processing and storage, we present the food values, bio-deteriorating/spoilage fungi and aflatoxin contents of Attieke samples, collected from different locations in Nigeria and Ivory Coast. Aflatoxin contents were detected using high Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Result obtained shows that the most frequent fungal contaminants in the samples are Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans, Mucor hiemalis and Penicillium chrysogenum. Records on the aflatoxin contents shows that the food samples contain AFB1 (1.03-6.72 μg kg-1), AFB2 (2.46-2.56 μg kg-1) and AFG1 (1.43-9.57 μg kg-1) range. It is also observed that the samples contain appreciable amount of Crude Protein (0.48-0.73%) and Moisture Content (45.89-49.96%) ranges with storage time, percentage Crude Fibre (CF) range from 1.08-1.12%, 0.14-0.18% Crude Fat (EE) and 0.45-0.49% Percentage Ash.