Production, Utilization and Nutritional benefits of Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) Puree Bread: A Review

Abstract

Bread though an exotic food product in sub-Saharan Africa, has been an important cereal product consumed by most individuals among the vast Sub-Saharan African population. Bread formulations in both the local and industrial production have evolved. The latest and emerging technology in bread formulation involve the incorporation of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) puree. OFSP puree-based bread is commercially available across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and is being promoted due to the potential nutritional benefits that it possesses. Together with OFSP flour based bread, OFSP puree based bread serves as a good food vehicle for β-carotene; this serves to alleviate vitamin A deficiency (VAD) especially among the vulnerable population in SSA. The production of OFSP puree based bread has so far been relying on fresh OFSP puree or cold-chain stored OFSP puree. However, this has presented economic challenges and problems to the sustainability and expansion in OFSP puree bread production. Cold chain stored OFSP puree is capital intensive and has inconsistent supply. With the development of shelf-storable preservative treated OFSP puree, most of these challenges will be overcome without undoing the currently harnessed benefits. The use of OFSP puree in bread baking can then be expanded easily at minimal production costs and maximum retention of nutritional quality. Therefore, the use of the shelf-storable OFSP puree in bread baking needs to be evaluated further to present a substantiated case for its use. The current review has been developed with focus on the scientific advances in the production of OFSP puree based bread from both historical and a forecast perspective. The scientific progress and breakthroughs in the use of OFSP puree in bread are critically reviewed.