Recipient Organization
COLLEGE OF MICRONESIA
PO BOX 1179
KOLONIA POHNPEI,FM 96941
Performing Department
COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION
Non Technical Summary
Local foods in Micronesia such as taro, cassava, sweet potato, and breadfruit are staple foods in the region because they are good sources of carbohydrates. Development of non-gluten food products from these food sources is an important research area because they do not contain gluten. Glutein is akind of protein which is one of the two basic components of wheat grains, and the other is starch. When wheat flour proteins glutenin and gliadin come in contact with liquid during baking, gluten is formed, which gives important properties to regular dough such as the sticky effect and flexibility. However, gluten is responsible for wheat allergies, which is one of the eight most common food allergies in the United States. Gluten also causes celiac disease, which is an auto-immune disorder where the body attacks itself when exposed to gluten. This project aims to develop foods that are gluten-free from the four Micronesian local foods. Gluten-free foods that are safe for people with celiac disease are also safe for those who are following a wheat-free diet due to specific food allergy.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
90%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
1. To develop shelf-stable non-gluten foods from taro, cassava, sweet potato, and breadfruit using processes like drying, freezing, cooking, baking and fermenting;2. To conduct shelf-life studies of products in suitable packaging materials;3. To prepare technology packages and product information on selected commercializable food products;4. To conduct technology seminar-workshops in the communities in Palau and other counties of the College of Micronesia (COM) namely, Marshall Islands andthe Federated States of Micronesia : Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, and Yap;5. To build up a scientific research base as a result of this project.
Project Methods
New and improved products from local foods will be prepared and processes like drying, refrigerating, freezing, baking, cooking, and fermenting will be utilized using the following experimental design:PROCESS PRODUCT EXPERIMENTAL TRIALSDrying FlourMoisture content 8% 10% 12%Freezing Ice Cream Local food:starch mix 100:0 75:25 50:50Baking Breads,Cakes,Cookies Gum:local food flour 1/8t:1c 1/4 t:1 c 1/2 t:1 cCooking Recipes General acceptability scoresFermenting Vinegar, sauce, wine Local food:water 1:1 1:2 1:3Experimental data will be satistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance, t-tests, multiple comparisons as appropriate.