Abstract:
Garri is a popular food in Nigeria derived from the fermentation of the mash obtained from the enlarged root of the cassava plant, Manihol esculenta Crantz. As currently produced, the mash used for garri production is spontaneiously fermented; on account of this, there is great variability in the organoleptic properties and the quantities of residual cyanide in the garri from Nigeria. The use of starter cultures can help ensure uniformity in these properites if dry carriers can be found on which the fermentative organisms can survice for extended periods so as to facilitate the transportation of their carriers to the many small and scattered garri producers. we therefore studied the surivival, sigly or mixed, on dry starchy substrates derived from locally available crops, of Lactobacillus coryneformis, Lact, delbruckii and Saccharomyees sp., which are associated the garri production, as carriers for these organisms. After 16 weeks of storage, between 75% and 85% of the organisms survived on yam, coco-yam cassava in that order, whereas between 40 and 65% survived on rice and garri. Refrigeration at 4 C did not improve the survival of the organisms, when compared to room temperature (30 C) for the organisms stores on yam, coco-yam and cassava. However where the organisms were stored on rice and garri, refrigeration improved the survival ability of the organisms by between 10 and 20%.
