Microbiological and Organoleptic Quality Characteristics of Laboratory Produced Date Fruit-based Kunun-zaki

In the quest to produce an acceptable local beverage that could serve as an alternative variety to kunun-zaki for many millions of Nigerians who take the cereal-based beverage as their most preferred and affordable drink a study was undertaken to assess the microbial and sensory quality attributes of laboratory-produced Date fruit-based kunun-zaki. Different blends of dry date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) formulated as follows; F1 (100:0), F2 (70:30), F3 (50:50), and F4 (30:70%) of date fruits/sorghum were soaked overnight in water, drained and were wet-milled with ginger and cloves using an equal volume of sterile water, F5 (0:100) was market (Control) sample. The microbial succession study included the identification of organisms at various critical stages of the production of the beverage. The results of the study showed the mean pH, and TTA (%) values for the respective formulated Kunun-dabino product were F1 (4.87 and 0.3870), F2 (4.66 and 0.4508), F3 (4.29 and 0.4600), F4 (4.04 and 0.4690), F5/Control (4.32 and 0.4589) respectively. The mean Total bacterial, coliform and fungal loads of the four experimental products were 2.58 x 104, NIL, and 3.56 x 103 CFU/ml respectively which fall within W.H.O’s recommended standards for ready-to-eat foods. Species of Bacillus, Enterobacter, Shigella, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, Penicillium Mucur, and Candida were present at the initial production stage while Bacillus and Lactobacillus species persisted right through to the final stage of production. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that while F1 was the least liked, F3 was significantly preferred over the other samples (P < 0.05). The study has shown that ‘Kunun dabino’ produced under the laboratory conditions in this study provides a new brand of beverage that is both microbiologically safe and organoleptically more acceptable to taste panelists.