ABSTRACT

Ogi is a traditional fermented food produced from maize and serves as breakfast foor the majority of the population and is a good food choice for the sicks. This study was carried out to develop an appropriate starter culture for its controlled fermentation in order to improve the safety and quality of the product. In this work, starter cultures of Lactobacillus brevis, Lactococcus cremoris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used to prepare ogi hence comparing it with the spontaneous type. The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast were isolated from nunu and palmwine using de Mann Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) respectively. A suspension of the organisms was made from their pure isolates after sub-culture before inoculating into the fermenting vessels containing the sterile ogi. The maize samples were fermented for three days and physico-chemical and microbiological changes was determined during the fermentation. The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast involved during the fermentation of maize for the production of ogi were quantified. (ANOVA, P=O.05) indicated the significant difference between the physicchemical parameters and the sensory evaluation test. There was significant drop in the final pH values of the four preparation from 5.54 to 4.31. Mean while respective titratable acidity (TIA) increased on average from 0.03 up to 0.09g/L. The total viable count of bacteria increased from 4.2x i05to 1.28x106while the total fungal count increased within narrow ranges from 3.2x to 6.1 x This work showed that ogi prepared with the LAB and '1 yeast (starter culture) fermented within three days of the fermentation compared to the traditional spontaneous one as it ranked highest with regard to sensory evaluation and received overall acceptability of 7.