article · Food Chemistry Advances
This research evaluates the nutritional, sensory, and microbial characteristics of chin-chin made by combining wheat flour with okra seed flour. Flour blends were prepared at various ratios ranging from pure wheat to an equal mix of wheat and okra seed. Adding higher levels of okra seed flour improved the nutritional profile of the fried snack, leading to increases in crude protein, crude fibre, and total ash content. Conversely, moisture, crude fat, and carbohydrate levels decreased as the proportion of okra seed rose. Microbial testing confirmed that bacterial and fungal counts remained within safe limits across all formulations. Among the blended formulations, snacks made with a twenty percent substitution of okra seed flour received the highest ratings for sensory appeal and overall consumer preference, while providing substantial energy content.
Snacks such as chin-chin are widely consumed but typically rely solely on refined wheat flour, which offers limited nutritional value. Using underutilised crop components like okra seeds enhances dietary fibre and protein while lowering fat content. This approach supports nutritional improvement in everyday foods without compromising microbial safety or consumer sensory preferences.
The findings are relevant to commercial snack manufacturers and food processors seeking to produce nutritionally enhanced baked or fried products. With sensory testing, microbial safety screening, and proximate analyses already completed at laboratory scale, the formulation is applied and tested. Further commercialisation would require pilot-scale production, shelf-life verification, and formal supply chain development for food-grade okra seed flour.
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This research work focused on investigating the proximate, mineral, sensory and microbiological qualities of chin-chin produced from a blend of wheat and okra seed flours. The okra seed flour was prepared using standard procedures. The wheat flour was blended with the okra seed flour at ratio 100:0 (control), 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50. Crude protein, crude fibre and total ash increased with increase in proportion of okra seed flour incorporation. However, decreases were observed for moisture, crude fat and carbohydrate respectively. Bacterial and fungal counts were within the acceptable limits and ranged between 4.0 × 103 to 11.0 × 103 cfu/g and 1.0 × 103 to 15.0 × 103 cfu/g respectively. Chin-chin made up of 20% substitution with okra seed flour was the most preferred for the blended products in terms of general acceptability for sensorial attributes. The energy value of the okra seed chin-chin ranged from 364.55 ± 0.12 to 388.73 ± 0.19 kcal/100 g. The study has shown that the employment of okra seed in the production of chin-chin could be a veritable and rich source of nutrients.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100298
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