Articles

Tanga City is the region with several micro-and small-scale pasta processing companies in the country. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the quality and safety of folded vermicelli produced by the small-scale processors in Tanzania. Samples of 1 kg folded vermicelli were collected from 14 processing companies, by the intentional cluster sampling technique. The samples were analysed for aflatoxin and microbiological (<i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Aspergillus flavus</i>, and <i>Aspergillus parasiticus</i>) quality. Moreover, physico-chemical quality was assessed in terms of diameter by using a digital calliper, moisture content by oven-drying method at 110℃± 5℃, breaking strength by the texture analyzer, and colour by colourimeter (Chroma Meter CR-400) of the collected samples were determined. In terms of microbial quality, the results indicated contamination by <i>E. coli</i> (1.25-3.00 Log CFU.g<SUP>-1</SUP> in 8/14 samples), <i>A. flavus</i> (2.23-2.83 Log CFU.g<SUP>-1</SUP> in 12/14 samples), and <i>A. parasiticus</i> (1.22-2.75 Log CFU.g<SUP>-1</SUP> in 2/14 samples) as they are beyond the set limits. The diameter varied between 0.90 mm to 1.73 mm in 9/14 samples and moisture content were 10.61% to 12.65% in 13/14 samples, being within the established parameters. The samples indicated low breaking strength with levels between 6.79x10<SUP>5</SUP> N.m<SUP>-2</SUP> to 3.75x10<SUP>6</SUP> N.m<SUP>-2</SUP> in 11/14 samples. The result of brightness (L*) were between 53.03 to 72.14 and yellowness (b*) between 13.68 to 19.48 indices, indicating that there was no significant difference at the 5% level, respectively, although 2/14 samples had red (a*) colour values (-1.32 – +0.56). However, 4/14 samples were detected with aflatoxin B<SUB>1</SUB> (0.60-0.70 μg.kg<SUP>-1</SUP>), they are within the recommended level (5 μg.kg<SUP>-1</SUP>). The study underscores the need for concerted efforts to enhance production and hygiene practices to ensure consistent compliance with quality and safety standards.

A new parameter was proposed, with the help of which a specific disperse system was characterized. In addition, a regularity was found showing the relationship between the structural characteristics of structural units (particle size distribution, standard deviation, intensity and average diameter). Various highly dispersed systems have been investigated, including polystyrene latex, Sucrose and latex.