Traditional Meat Processing Knowledge, Social-Cultural Values, Nutritional Quality and Safety amongst the Borana Women of Northern Kenya

Abstract

Food preservation has been practiced for centuries by different communities around the world, with approaches manifested in different ways as they were in different localities. As such, meat is a one highly valued food among the Borana pastoralist community who produced a number of traditionally preserved beef and goat meat products. Meat is not only relished for eating and nutritional contentment, but also for multiple social and cultural roles among the Borana community. Although these traditional meat products are widely utilised and appreciated, there is little information about their quality, especially because some of them are preserved with fats and other ingredients. Therefore, this study documented knowledge of traditional meat preservation as practiced by women of the Borana community and social cultural links of these products to the people in Northern Kenya. This documentation is geared towards preserving the indigenous knowledge that has existed amongst the Borana community since time immemorial, but which would otherwise be lost with the passing of the older generation. Due to the sensitive and perishable nature of meat, chemical and microbiological analysis of the traditional meat products were also done to establish nutritional value and safety. In addition, the sensory acceptability of the products were evaluated. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to generate required information about the preservation and processing of traditional meat products. The data collection methods included household survey, consumer evaluation questionnaire, key informant interviews, narrative interviews, focus group discussions and practical demonstrations through participatory observation. The study observed that pastoralist women had tacit skills and knowledge of processing the traditional meat products. Fourteen traditional meat products and seven preservation techniques were documented, and it was found that drying and deep frying were the major forms of meat preservation. Nevertheless, it was found that only four of the products are currently in use, an indication of the steady decline in traditional meat processing practices among the Borana community. The results also showed that cattle played an important economic and social cultural role in Borana community where the processes of sanga (bull) slaughtering was used as a coping mechanism during severe droughts in mitigating food insecurity as well as playing important roles of enhancing the social cultural fabric. Results from chemical and microbial analysis of traditional meat products showed moisture contents ranged from 3.3% to 6.1 %, crude protein contents ranged from 55.8% to 72.5%, crude fat ranged from 9.4% to 13.3%, crude ash ranged from 1.7% to 2.8 %, crude fiber ranged from 1.5% to 4.1%. The low moisture content of these products are compatible with good keeping quality. The microbial results showed that there was presence of Staphylococcus aureus, yeast and mould for the period of seven weeks observed. There was significant (p<0.05) increase in Staphylococcus aureus counts from (1.44 log cfu/g) to (2.28 log cfu/g) over the observed period at room temperature. These counts are within the accepted range in meat products. For rancidity indices, free fatty acid and peroxide values increased significantly (p<0.05) from 0.97% to 2.05% and 2.26% to 4.45 % respectively at week 1 and week 7. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level was below the value associated with meat spoilage during the expected shelf life. Thus, both microbial and chemical quality indices gave a positive outlook of the traditional products. However, the study observed that there is need to improve hygiene and sanitation during the traditional processing of the various meat products. These products were highly regarded among the community, where the sensory evaluation done on perception of these products revealed that the products were strongly liked as special food with good organoleptic indicators. In conclusion, the nutritional composition of the traditional products were established to be having all the essential micro and macro-nutrients, making the product suitable for general consumption.