Artisanal Meat Preservation Knowledge and Quality Assessment among the Borana People of Northern Kenya

Abstract

Food preservation has been practised for centuries by different communities around the world, manifesting in different ways and in different localities. Meat is a highly valued food among the Borana pastoralist community who produced a number of traditionally preserved beef and goat meat products. Meat is not only relished for eating and nutritional contentment, but has also multiple social and cultural roles among the Borana community. Although these traditional meat products are widely utilised and appreciated, there is little information about their quality, especially because some of them are preserved with fats and other ingredients. Therefore, this study documented knowledges of artisanal meat preservation as practised by women of the Borana community and social cultural links of these products to the people in northern Kenya. This documentation is geared towards preserving the indigenous knowledge that has existed amongst the Borana community since time immemorial, but which would otherwise be lost with the passing of the older generation. Due to the sensitive and perishable nature of meat, analysis on proximate, safety and quality and of the artisanal meat product was done to establish nutritional values, safety, quality and of these traditional meat products. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to generate required information about the preservation and processing of artisanal meat. The data collection methods included household survey, consumer evaluation questionnaire, key informant interviews, narrative interview, focus group discussions and practical demonstrations through participatory observation. For laboratory analysis chemical, microbial and quality indices were determined for the artisanal meat products. To check for preferences and sensory quality, consumer evaluation was done. The result for the study was structured beginning with determination of knowledge and skills, then cultural aspect of artisanal meat, chemical and microbial profile of artisanal meat and finally current status of the meat. It was observed that methods of traditional meat processing and handling included different forms of drying, use of heat and storage in fat. Fourteen traditional meat products and seven preservation techniques were documented, and it was found that drying and deep frying was the major form of meat preservation. Nevertheless, it was observed that only four of the products are currently in use, an indication of steady decline in traditional meat processing practises among the community. The results also showed that, cattle played an important economic and social cultural role in Borana community where the processes of sanga slaughtering was used as coping mechanism during severe droughts in mitigating food insecurity and also played important role in enhancing the social cultural fabric. Result from chemical and microbial analysis of artisanal products showed moisture contents of the meat products ranged from 3.3 to 6.1 %, crude protein contents ranged from 55.8 to 72.5%, crude fat ranged from 9.4 to 13.3%, crude ash ranged from 1.7 to 2.8 %, crude fiber ranged from 1.5 to 4.1%. The result indicates strongly that artisanal meat products are nutrient rich product and have low moisture content indicative of longer keeping quality. The microbial results showed that there was presence of Staphylococcus aureus, yeast and mold for the period of seven weeks observed. There was significant (p<0.05) increase of staphylococcus aureus from (1.44 log cfu/g) to (2.28 log cfu/g) over the observed period at ambient temperature. For rancidity indices, free fatty acid and peroxide values increased significantly (p<0.05) from 0.97% to 2.05% and 2.26% to 4.45 % respectively at week 1 and week 7. TBA levels were below the value associated with meat spoilage during the expected shelf life. Microbial and quality indices results gave positive outlook of the artisanal products. However, there is need to improve hygiene and sanitation during the traditional processing of the various meat products. The general status of artisanal meat processing and preservation practises showed that pastoralist women had skills and knowledge of processing the traditional meat products. The products were highly regarded among the community. The sensory evaluation done on perception of these products revealed that the products were well liked as special food with good organoleptic indicators. There is good potential for scaling up production of these traditional meat products. The gap observed was that the women have notion and inherent belief that the artisanal meat products were meant for special occasion and never regarded to be for sale. The result form this study on documentation of these traditional meat products and its nutritional and quality status was important and forms the basis of exploring the options of income generation by the women groups.