ADEBAYO ABRAHAM ADEWUMI: Lean Meat for the 21st Century: A Case Study of Emu Dromaius Novae Hollandiae [Le Souef 1907] The emu bird, only slightly smaller than the ostrich, is originally from Australia. It will grow up to two meters tall and weigh 60 kg. Its red meat is almost fat free, low in cholesterol and high in protein and iron. In the study, the meat of 16 emus was analyzed and compared to beef. Emu meat's cholesterol level is about 35% lower than that of beef. In regards to the total minerals there were no differences. Since consumers are looking for appetizing food and are increasingly basing their choice on fat, calories and cholesterol, Emu meat is the perfect choice. FOLUSHO UGWU: Complimentary Feeding Practices and Nutrient Intake of Children Aged 6-18 Months in Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria Breast milk is an ideal food for healthy growth, because it is safe, uncontaminated and digestible. However, complementary foods are needed to fill the gap between the nutritional content of breast milk and the nutritional needs of the babies. This combination is practiced poorly in Nigeria mainly due to the lack of information, literacy and simply the needed food. In the study 300 mothers with infants were questioned. 35% of the mothers were housekeepers. 17% had never attended school, compared to 30% who had attended a university. Roughly two thirds practiced partial breast feeding, whereas 35% exclusively breast fed. Generally the babies were introduced to solid food at the age of five months, mainly different kinds of porridge with milk or crayfish. One of the problems the study showed, was that between the age of 11 to 15 months the total energy intake was too low. Complementary foods were not adequate, although timlely and properly given. The situation could be improved by nutritionally upgrading the food, grass roots advocacy and distributing books of recipes. ANA SALVATIERA: Application of HACCP Principles to Local Drying Process of Capsicum Species in Bolivia and Perú Both Bolivia and Perú export sun dryed chili peppers. Problems encountered with sun drying are the lack of control, the weather and time and labor consumed. Under these production circimstances toxins can develop, therfore Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles should be used to ensure food safety. The steps to dried peppers are mainly harvesting, spreading on the ground, turning, sorting, piling, packing and transport. In all steps there are potential hazards. In Bolivia the in house storage of the fruits leads to higher contamination levels, whereas the Perúvian spreading of the capsicum may damage the fruits. Implementation of HACCP and GAP are advised in both countries. ANNA SOPHIE FAHRION: Risk Assessment in the Pork Meat Chain in two Districts of Viet Nam In Viet Nam pork meat consumption is increasing and 81% of the total meat production is pork. Informal markets are the most common selling place. Hygiene practices in the slaughterhouses are the main issue: few have hot water and soap. Poor waste disposal and the processing on the floor are common and workers are not trained in pathological signs in pigs. 43% of consumers are concerned about pork quality, thus meat is always cooked within three hours of purchase and 98% cook the pork meat longer than 10 ten minutes. However consumption does not predict illnesses, whereas interestingly vegetable consumption and illnesses have a positive correlation. Pork meat has high levels of hazards, but low levels of actual risk. Large-scale modern markets such as super-markets have the highest bacteria levels in their pork. A possible explanation is that traditional markets sell all their meat within a day, but supermarkets will store it, while both buy from slaughterhouses with poor hygiene. So to improve the meat quality, slaughterhouses are the first location of intervention. JANE BEATRICE MUGENDI: Effects of Processing Mucuna Bean on Protein Quality and Anti-nutrient Content The mucuna bean, also known as the velvet bean, is mainly used as a green manure cover crop. Because of anti-nutrients it has only been a minor food crop although the macuna bean is high in protein. The high level of L-dopa in the crude bean may cause nausea and paranoid delusions, among others. However the processing (the most efficient in tests was extraction at 60°C) could reduce the L-dopa to an acceptable level. Compared to casein in rat testing, mucuna bean protein was inferior, nonetheless the processed mucuna bean has potential as an alternate source of cheap protein.