Formulation, nutritional, microbial quality and sensory acceptability of instant soup mix from low-grade cashew kernel splits

Ready to cook instant soup mix from broken cashew kernels was formulated as a means of value addition, stored for three months and prepared into soup for sensory evaluation to determine the product acceptability before and after storage. Four instant soup formulations (642, 679, 611 and 698) were made with varying quantities of ingredients while the main raw material (cashew splits) were made constant. The samples were subjected to proximate, minerals, physical properties and microbial analysis using standard methods. Protein content of the samples ranged from 8.77-13.67%, sample 642 had the highest concentration and sample 698 (12.89%). Non-fat extract also ranged from 69.69-75.50 with sample 642 having the least value. Sample 642 recorded the highest metabolizable energy of 466.28kcal/100g and all the physical characteristics analyzed while sample 611 had the lowest concentration of 351.84kcal/100g. It had the highest concentration in Mg, Na, and K while sample 698 was highest in C, Zn, Fe and Mn. Sample 611 was adjudged the best formulation for the freshly prepared soup mix in all the sensory attributes while sample 642 scored better in all the attributes after three months storage. No coliform or fungal growth was noticed in any of the samples all-through the period of storage. Sample 698 show a highly noticeable drop in bacterial population (from 2.0 x 103 cfu/g to 1.4 x 103 cfu/g) before and after storage, respectively. The recorded microbial populations in the samples fall within acceptable limits for yeast and mould, according to ICMSF standard.