Browsing by Author "Ssendagala, George William"

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Characterisation and valorisation of solid food waste into quality, safe, palatable and digestible feed for sustainable edible insect (House Cricket) protein production
(SpringerNature, 2025-06-18) Ssepuuya, Geoffrey; Ssendagala, George William
Globally, commercial feed production relies on conventional food resources. By 2050, nearly half of the world's grain production will be allocated to feed. This unsustainable trend poses significant risks to food security in developing countries, such as Uganda. To mitigate this conflict, second-generation biomass, such as food waste can be a viable alternative. With Uganda generating and discarding approximately 300,000 tonnes of food waste annually, the aim of this study was fivefold, i.e., (1) characterise the nutritional and microbial composition of solid food waste materials; (2) develop a process to valorise food waste into a cricket feed; (3) ascertain the nutritional quality of the developed feed; (4) establish the microbial load of the feed; and, (5) test the palatability and digestibility of the formulated feed. Four feed formulations were developed, with proximate analysis indicating 17.79–28.00% protein; 6.19–13.53% fat; 3.00–6.16% fibre; 5.41–14.21% ash; and 48.72–62. 38% carbohydrates, comparable to amounts in the control feed. After heat treatment, the counts (log cfu/g) for total plate (6.4–6.8), yeast and mould (3.4–4.1), Enterococcus (4.4–6.9), and Staphylococcus aureus (4.5–4.8) were similar to those observed in the literature, while no Salmonella typhi was detected. The experimental feeds demonstrated higher palatability (18 g/d) and significantly higher digestibility (86–87%) compared to the control. The conversion of food waste into feed for crickets, an alternative protein, potentially contributes to resolving food-feed conflicts while promoting planetary resource use efficiency in the long run.
Impact of food-to-food fortification by house cricket powder on the sensory, functional, and nutritional properties of climate-smart cassava flour
(Springer Link, 2024-11-28) Ssepuuya, Geoffrey; Jjoloba, Wilberforce; Nakamya, Leticia; Musalima, Juliet H.; Nakimbugwe, Dorothy; Ssendagala, George William
Cassava ranks as the 2nd most important staple food in Uganda. Several climate-smart cassava varieties have been developed but remain nutrient deficient. This study evaluated the impact of adding house cricket powder on cassava’s sensory, functional, and nutritional quality behaviour. Using design expert software (version 13) and sensory analysis techniques, the study screened and selected four cassava–cricket composites based on two cassava varieties (Narocass 1 and Magana) containing between 8.36% and 10.52% house cricket powder. These composites exhibited significantly lower scores (P < 0.05) for colour, aroma, aftertaste, and overall acceptability, although they remained within sensory acceptable limits, i.e., 5–7 on a 9-point hedonic scale. Cricket powder incorporation significantly increased the protein content from 1.05-1.11% to 6.46–6.81% (P < 0.001), fat content from 0.71-0.74% to 2.30–2.77% (P < 0.001), and protein digestibility from 83-84% to 88–94% (P < 0.001). The functional properties were statistically significantly (P < 0.05) influenced, however, there were not any significant changes in the sensory properties (taste, texture, flavour, mouth-feel, etc.) such as taste and mouthfeel that the significant changes in functional properties would influence. The pasting properties were not generally affected. Hence, nutritionally richer cassava–cricket powder composites can substitute the food functions of plain cassava flour. The sensory quality of house cricket powder should be improved through refining techniques known to positively influence the sensory properties of cereal and tuber flours to which it is normally added as an ingredient.