Abstract:
The availability of varied packaging materials for global food services has
accounted for ready-to-eat foods in wrappings of plant leaves, of which the
Ghanaian food industry is not an exception. This study evaluated the microbial
and nutritive status of food packaged in both Musa sapientum and Musa
paradisiaca in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis. Standard methods were used
in conducting the experiments. Qualitative data and quantitative data obtained
were analyzed and the results were expressed in frequencies, percentages,
means and graphs. The study revealed that majority of the food service
operators who packaged food in M. sapientum and M. parasidiaca leaves
where mainly food vendors who engaged in kenkey selling. Consumer
preferences were geared towards presumed health and safetiness, medicinal
properties and availability. In this study, the proximate analysis showed that
M. sapientum and M. parasidiaca leaves add important nutrients to the
wrapped food compared to food wrapped in Cellophane. The study also
revealed appreciably high contents of phosphorus, potassium, and β-Carotene
in oblongo, which had been wrapped in M. sapientum and M. parasidiaca
fresh leaves, while copper and zinc were noticeable in the oblongo wrapped in
dry leaves. At the same time, traceable amounts of bacteria count, coliforms,
yeast, and mold and antioxidants were identified on both fresh and dry leaves
collected across the three locations. Alternatively, there were no detectable
traces of microbes on the Cellophane and the oblongo packaged in leaves
under hygienic conditions. It is recommended that consumers and food service
operators who patronize M. sapientum and M. sparadisiaca leaves, but to
ensure high food hygiene to control and/ or avoid bacterial contamination and
infection.
