Proximate, Microbial and Sensory Properties of Moi-Moi Produced with Crayfish and Grasshopper

The research assessed the proximate, microbial and sensory properties of moi-moi produced with crayfish and grasshopper (Zonocerus variegatus). Cowpea seed, crayfish and grasshoppers were processed into flours using standard procedures. Cowpea-crayfish flour and cowpea-grasshopper flour were formulated with the ratios: 90:10, 85:15, 80:20 and 75:25 respectively. Proximate properties showed the range of values for Protein: 5.50-12.80, Fat: 5.27-8.07%, Carbohydrate: 28.30-38.87%, Moisture: 40.00-52.67%, Ash: 1.32-4.27% and Fiber: 1.63 -8.50%. Microbial analysis indicated bacteria count range of 4.1 × 105 - 8.5 × 105 CFU/g; fungal 2.1 × 105 - 4.2× 105 CFU/g and coliform 1.6 × 105 -3.8 × 105 CFU/g. Sensory attributes of the moi-moi samples were evaluated and the result ranged from 6.27-7.60 for colour, 6.33-7.13 for texture, 5.60-7.73, 6.13-7.00 for flavour and 6.20-7.60 for overall acceptability. The study established that moi-moi produced with crayfish and grasshopper contains high amount of nutritive value when compared with moi-moi produced only with cowpea flour. The result of the sensory evaluation showed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the samples indicating that moi-moi produced with grasshopper is acceptable.