Food for the Stomach Nourishing our Future: Assessment of Potassium Bromate in Local and Packaged Bread Sold in Ilorin Metropolis

Abstract

Bread is an important food type created by cooking a batter of flour and water, possibly with other condiments. Potassium bromate is a flour improver that acts as an enhancer. It mostly operates in the late batter stage, energizing the mixture during late sealing and early baking. In Nigeria, the use of bromate in bread production was prohibited in 1993. Regardless, some bread manufacturers have continued to include potassium bromate in their products. Because of its widespread use, this analysis attempts to assess the concentration of Bromate in local and packaged breads sold in the Ilorin Metropolitan Area. It is cross-sectional descriptive research with laboratory analysis. A total of fifteen brands of breads were used in this study labeled as (A,B,C,D,G,J,O,K) as packaged bread and (E,I,L,M,N,E,H) as local bread. They were purchased randomly from bakeries, bus stops and markets in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital, and Nigeria. The bread was subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis of Potassium bromate in bread. The qualitative result revealed black spot on the samples indicating the presence of potassium bromate. Three of the bread samples (J, L and O) did not show any visible black spot while other bread samples have black spot. The quantitative amount of potassium bromates found in each bread sample showed that the quantity of potassium bromates found in the different bread sample is above Food and Drug Agency (FDA) recommended standards, which is 0.02μg/g (0.02mg/ kg), with sample (M) having the highest concentration (0.62515) of potassium bromate, while sample (E) having the lowest concentration (0.42713) of potassium bromate. The outcome gotten from the research investigation actually inferred that consumer of bread sold in Ilorin are unaware of this harmful substance, notwithstanding a few existing enactments banning its utilization. The net cancer-causing impact of potassium bromate is accumulative, in this way consistency in consumption of bread with potassium bromate could prompt malignant growth over time. The principal issue in Nigeria is execution of the ban and immediate impacts are needed to abridge the utilization of this food poison.