Improvement of nutritional, sanitary and organoleptic qualities of liquid zoom-koom and instant flour zoom-koom using Lactobacillus fermentum starter culture

Traditional fermented beverages occupy an important place in the diet of populations in Burkina Faso. Zoom-koom in particular remains one of the most consumed cereal-based drinks in cities like Ouagadougou. The drink zoom-koom is consumed primarily in the liquid form and to short scale in the reconstituted form called instant flour zoom-koom. Being able to diversify zoom-koom taste and aroma and to improve the nutritional and hygienic quality would definitely add value to this product. For sensorial analysis, 04 formulations of liquid zoom-koom and instant flour zoom-koom were realized and evalued by a panel of tasters. The best formulation of each type of zoom-koom was produced using Lactobacillus fermentum strains SF9.5 and SF6.2 as starter culture. Then, the microbiological (aerobic mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, coliforms, yeasts and molds), physico-chemical (pH, acidity, proteins, sugar, lipids, iron, magnesium, calcium) and sensory parameters of each product were determined. The results showed a marked improvement in protein content (25.83-28.41%) for instant flour zoom-koom, in reducing sugars for liquid zoom-koom (32.1-36.9%) and for instant flour zoom-koom (29.88-47.43%), in calcium (39-43 mg for liquid zoom-koom), in magnesium (59-65 mg for liquid zoom-koom), in iron (2.37-2.50 mg and 3.0-3.08 mg respectively for liquid zoom-koom and instant flour zoom-koom). A reduction in total coliforms from 1.3×104 to 4.0×101 cfu/ml for the liquid zoom-koom and from 4.3×104 to 6.8×103 cfu/ml for the instant flour zoom-koom was observed. In addition, a reduction in mold growth ranging from 1.3×104 to 4.0×101 cfu/ml for the liquid zoom-koom and from 1.3×104 to 7.0×103 cfu/ml for instant flour zoom-koom was observed. The zoom-koom samples using L. fermentum starter cultures were well appreciated by at least 80% of the tasters.   Key words: Beverage, zoom-koom, Lactobacillus fermentum, starter cultures, quality.