Physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of lafun produced in Benin

Lafun is an African traditional fermented food product prepared from cassava. Whereas Nigerian lafun has been studied, characteristics of Beninese lafun are still unknown. This research was carried out to identify the characteristics of two types of lafun, Chigan lafun and ordinary lafun produced in Benin. The distinctive characteristics of Chigan lafun (the preferred type) were its lower solubility and fibre content and its higher hot paste viscosities compared to ordinary lafun. Whatever the type, lafun was found to be a dried and white product with a highly variable pH (4.5-8.8). Both types were rich in carbohydrates (76.0% of starch and 3.3% of crude fibres), poor in proteins (1.0%) and containing fat (0.4%) and ash (1.2%). The swelling power of the lafun flour (expressed by the quantity of water absorbed by 1 g of flour) was 28.9 g water/g for the both types. Lafun has a variable microbial load which levels ranged from 10(4) to 10(8) cfu/g and made up of Bacillus spp. (10(4)-10(8) cfu/g), lactic acid bacteria (10(3)-10(7) cfu/g), Enterobacteriaceae (10(3)-10(7) cfu/g) and yeasts (10(2)-10(7) cfu/g).