Effect of Processing on Nutritional Value and Microbial Characteristics of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)

Okra is consumed for its nutrients for healthy growth and development. Quality okra is essential for consumption and maximizing profits for okra producers and marketers. However, okra is perishable and limited in supply during the dry seasons. The stakeholders such as farmers, traders and consumers processed okra fruits to make them available all year round. Therefore, the objective of the study is to explore the effect of processing on nutritional value and microbial characteristics of okra fruits. The study involved both field survey and laboratory work among five okra producing communities within Sunyani Municipality Ghana, namely; Abesim, Atronie, Benu Nkwanta, Ayakomasu and Wawasua. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 50 farmers while purposive sampling technique was used to select 35 traders and 25 consumers, making a total of one hundred and ten respondents. Questionnaires were instruments used for the survey. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments was used and blocked five times to obtain data for laboratory analyses. Results from the study indicated that, variety of okra fruits most cultivated, sold and consumed was Asutem, July to September were identified to be the months of bumper harvest for farmers, declined in prices of okra fruits for traders and low purchasing prices of okra fruits for consumers. The processing methods identified for processing okra fruits were slicing, pounding/ milling and roasting. Nutritional analyses on techniques used for processing okra fruits in the study area, revealed that, fiber, ash and calcium contents (18.47 %, 9.7 % and 0.43 %) were higher in sliced okra fruits and carbohydrate content (48.34 %) was higher in roasted okra fruits. Microbial contamination analyses on techniques used for processing okra fruits, showed that, there were lower (1.24, 0.83, 1.73 and 0.66 log10 CFU/g of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium digitatum and Penicillium spp, respectively) in roasted okra fruits.