It is a common knowledge that there are many recipes for cassava bread developed by various institutions in Nigeria. Some have come up with cassava bread recipe including egg, milks etc which make such recipes unprofitable and more importantly unsustainable. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has sponsored many trainings for Master Bakers with each training institution sometimes using their own recipes to train. This has raised the issue of standardization of recipes which the Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development bought into and directed the Institute to carry out Cassava Bread Recipe Confirmation Exercise with all stakeholders in attendance with a view to evolving a national recipe for cassava bread.
This exercise was carried out at FIIRO on Thursday, 14th August, 2014. In attendance at the programme are:
- Hon. Minister, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Abdu Bulama ably represented by Dr. Okujagu- the Director-General/CEO, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency.
- Hon. Minister, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina ably represented by Mrs. Medinat Adetunji, the Senior Technical Adviser to the Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
- Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
- Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
- Director-General/CEO- National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
- Director-General/CEO-Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON).
- Director-General/CEO-Consumer Protection Council, Nigeria.
- Executive Secretary, Flour Milling Association of Nigeria.
- Country Manager, Casava: Adding Value for Africa.
- National President Master Bakers Association.
- Lagos State Chairman of Master Bakers Association.
- National President Nigerian Cassava Growers’ Association.
- Lagos State Chairman of Nigerian Cassava Growers’ Association.
- President, Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology.
- President, National Cassava Processors and Marketers Association.
- Director-General, National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
- Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
- Fifty Master Bakers.
After the opening ceremony, the technical session commenced with 50 bakers and two representatives of the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria for baking exercise. Cassava bread was baked at various levels of inclusion including 10%, 15% and 20% even though 20% level of inclusion has been agreed by all stakeholders as sustainable level of inclusion.
This exercise was a-week long programme to provide answers to all frequently asked questions on cassava bread through shelf life study; chemical and microbiological analyses; sensory evaluation; rheological and physical properties tests; glycemic index (GI) study and so on.