Suitability of using sieved or unsieved maize mash for production of "OGI"--a fermented cereal food.

Proximate analysis of sieved and unsieved maize mash revealed that there was a decrease in the protein and lipid content of the sieved maize mash as compared to that of the unsieved maize mash. Crude fibre and ash was completely absent in the sieved maize mash, while they were present in the unsieved mash. Chemical analysis of the fermented unsieved maize mash revealed an increase in the protein content from 9.9% (unfermented) to 13.4% after 3 days of fermentation, whereas the protein content of the sieved maize mash increased from 7.1% (unfermented) to 8.4% after the same period of fermentation. Furthermore, the results revealed that the protein content of the fermented unsieved maize mash was 32.1% higher than that of the fermented sieved maize mash indicating that the unsieved maize mash was of a better nutrient quality and should be preferred to sieved maize mash for use in "Ogi" production.