1

EVALUATION OF THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND SENSORY

PROPERTIES OF BISCUIT ENRICHED WITH THREE
DIFFERENT FISH FLOUR SPECIES

A PROJECT PROPOSAL

BY

ASUQUO ENO-OBONG SUNDAY

MOUAU/FST/19/106475

DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF APPLIED FOOD SCIENCES AND TOURISM
MICHAEL OKPARA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE,
UMUDIKE

SUPERVISOR: MR AGWO, O.E

FEBRUARY, 2025
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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Biscuits are ready-to-eat, cheap and convenient food products that are consumed among

all age groups in many countries (Iwegbue, 2020). Some of the reasons for such wide

popularity of biscuits are their availability in different forms, varied taste and longer

shelf life (Petrović et al., 2016). Biscuit is a small baked unleavened cake typically

crisp, flat and sweet. It can be distinguished from other baked products in relation to its

low moisture content of usually less than 5%, making them to have a low risk of

microbial spoilage and thus long shelf life (Chauhan et al., 2015). The main ingredient

generally used for biscuit production is wheat flour and other ingredients such as

margarine, sugar, leavening agents, eggs, milk, salt and flavor (Mamat and Hill, 2018).

Nowadays, biscuits are the most popular amongst consumers as a better source of

carbohydrates, proteins, dietary fibre along with quite good shelf-life and also serve as a

ready-to-eat product (Bala et al., 2015).

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a common cereal in the world which plays an important

role as global commodity due to its gluten forming proteins which are capable of having

extensibility and elasticity required for bakery products and pasta (Ubbor et al., 2021).

Wheat is the second most consumed cereal for human food after rice. Wheat is

primarily cultivated in China, India, Russia, USA, France, Canada, Germany, Pakistan,

Australia and Ukraine (Shuang-Qi et al., 2017. It is one of the most staple food crops

consumed by more than one third of the world population due to the presence of high

calories (Oluwatoyin et al., 2015). Wheat is not only a nutritious grain, but is also a rich

source of proteins, minerals, B vitamins and dietary fiber (Oluwatoyin et al., 2015).

Wheat contains 78.10 % carbohydrate, 14.70 % protein, 2.10 % fat, 2.10 % mineral and
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considerable proportions of vitamins (Bello et al., 2020). Wheat produced from

Triticum aestivum vulgare and Triticum turgidum durum are of most importance in

preparation of bread, production of confectionary products (Chalamacharla et al., 2018).

Fish is an essential source of high-quality protein providing about 16% of animal

protein consumed by the world's population. It provides 40% of the dietary intake of

animal protein(Campelo et al.,2017). In developing countries, fish is one of the

potential sources of animal protein and essential nutrients for the maintenance of a

healthy body. Compared to other sources of protein, fish are well known to be excellent

sources of protein which can be seen from amino acid composition and protein

digestibility (Ali and Kiumars, 2010).

Fish flour is one of the widely used nutrient-rich ingredients in aqua-culture, once it is a

good source of digestible energy and essential minerals, essential vitamins, and protein

with a high biological value (Senapati et al., 2017). It has been used in products with

low nutritional value and high sensory acceptability, aimed at the inclusion of this

ingredient in human nutrition, once consumers have looked for foods that are easy to

prepare and with high sensory quality (Oliveira et al., 2015).

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Fish is an excellent source of quality protein, a rich source of omega-3 fatty and mostly

has high content of micronutrients such as vitamins, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium,

potassium, and sodium. Due to their highly perishable properties, susceptibility to

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microbial contamination, high cost among other factors many people generally have

low levels of consumption. One way to improve fish consumption is the diversifications

of the processing line through the development of new fish derive products.

Disorders caused by micronutrient deficiency are more frequent in economically

deprived developing nations. This is due to the frequent consumption of low-mineral

and vitamin-deficient foods. Micronutrient deficiency has a wide range of negative

impacts on human health, not all of which are clinically visible. Biscuits are a ready-to-

eat staple food that is enjoyed by people of all ages in many nations. The wheat flour

used in its manufacturing is not a good source of micronutrients. Consumption of such

products on a regular basis has the potential to lead to micronutrient deficiency. More

so, It is believed that snack products of which biscuit is one of them have been

associated with ‘empty’ calories or ‘junk’. A monotonous diet, bad eating habits and

micronutrient deficiencies that typically accompany food related illnesses are all linked

to a heavy reliance on a few primary crops.

Consumer interest in healthy foods has increased in recent years, which has prompted

recent research to find methods to produce healthy and functional foods. It is hereby

important to develop a biscuit that is rich in nutritional and health promoting properties,

hence the incorporation of fish flour in the production of biscuit.

1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

The inclusion of fish flour in biscuit would help to reduce micronutrient deficiency in

Nigeria. This will help to diversify the use of these fish species in the enrichment of

biscuit , which will help to improve food security. This research is also intended to

provide the snack industry with sufficient knowledge on the best way to make biscuits
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enriched with these fish species. It can also be a useful method for improving the health

benefits of snack foods without sacrificing sensory qualities.The production of biscuit

using fish flour will also help create variety in the biscuit market.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this work is to evaluate the physicochemical and sensory

properties of biscuit enriched with three different fish flour species.

The specific objectives are to:

i. produce flour from wheat and fish respectively

ii. determine the functional properties of the flour blends

iii. produce biscuit from the flour blends

iv. determine the proximate composition of biscuits

v. determine the vitamin composition of the biscuit

vi. determine the mineral composition of the biscuit

CHAPTER 2

MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 SOURCES OF RAW MATERIAL

The wheat, fish and the other ingredients that will be used for this study will be

procured from Ubani market in Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State.

The production will be carried out in the Food Science Laboratory at Michael Okpara

University of Agriculture, Umudike while the analysis will be carried out at National

Root Crop Research Laboratory.

2.2 RAW MATERIAL PREPARATION

3.2.1 Production of Wheat Flour

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The method described by Ubbor et al.(2021)will be used in the production of wheat

flour as shown in Figure 2.1

3.2.2 Production of Fish Flour

The method described by Fokom et al.(2019) will be used in the production of fish flour

as shown in Figure 2.2

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Whole wheat grain

Sorting

Washing

Draining

Oven drying (60°C for 8h)

Milling (attrition mill)

Sieving (using 300µm mesh size)

Wheat flour

Packaging (in a transparent ziplock bag)

Figure 2.1: Flow chart for the production of wheat flour. Ubbor et al.(2021)
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Fish

Descaling

Beheading

Evisceration

Washing( with portable water)

Boiling (for 10 min)

Deskinning

Deboning

Drying

Milling

Sieving (using 0.5mm mesh screen)

Fish flour

Packaging (in a transparent ziplock bag)

Figure 2.2: Flow chart for the production of Fish flour. Fokom et al.(2019).
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2.3 FORMULATION OF FLOUR SAMPLES

Table 2.1: Formulation of flour samples.

Sample Codes Wheat flour Tilapia fish Mackerel fish Cat fish flour
flour (%) flour (%) (%)
BWO 100 0 0 0

BWT 70 30 0 0

BWM 70 0 30 0

BWC 70 0 0 30
BWO: 100 % wheat flour. BWT: 70 % wheat flour and 30 % tilapia fish flour. BWM 70 % wheat flour and 30 %
mackerel fish flour. BWC: 70 % wheat flour and 30 % catfish flour.

2.4 PRODUCTION OF BISCUIT

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The ingredients that will be used are presented in Table 2.2. These ingredients will be

used to produce biscuits according to the method described by Agugo et al. (2019) as

shown in figure 2.4

Table 2.2 Recipe for the production of biscuit.

Ingredients Quantity

Flour 400 g

Margarine 120 g

Sugar 80 g

Baking powder 4g

Salt 2g

Powdered milk 60 g

Grated nutmeg 2g

Vanilla 2 teaspoon

Egg 2 eggs

Water 100 ml

Agugo et al. (2019)

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Ingredients

Figure 2.3: Flow chart for production of biscuits. Agugo et al. (2019).
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2.5 METHODS OF ANALYSIS

2.5.1 Determination of functional properties

Bulk density, swelling index, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, foam

capacity, wettability and gelatinization temperature of the flour will be determined

according to the method described Onwuka (2018).

2.5.2 Determination of proximate composition

Moisture content, crude protein, fat, crude fibre, ash, carbohydrate, and energy value of

the biscuit samples will be determined according to the method described by Onwuka

(2018).

2.5.3 Determination of vitamin composition

Vitamin A, B1, B2, and B3 will be determined according to the method described by

Onwuka (2018).

2.5.4 Determination of Mineral Composition

Calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc will be determined according to the method

described by Onwuka (2018).

2.6 SENSORY EVALUATION OF THE BISCUIT

Nine-point hedonic scale described by Iwe (2014) will be used to evaluate the sensory

properties; aroma, appearance, taste, texture and general acceptability.

2.7 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Completely randomized design will be used in this study.

2.8 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

IBM SPSS Statistical package (version 22.0) will be used for all statistical analyses and

data will be subjected to One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and significant

differences detected using Duncan multiple range test at 95% confidence level (p<0.05).
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different fish speciesobtained from Iran. World Joirnal of Fish Marine Science,
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dough. Brazil Journal of Food Technology, 20: 1-12.

Chalamacharla, R. B., Harsha, K., Sheik, K. B. and Viswanatha, C. K. (2018). Wheat

bran- composition and nutritional quality: A review. Advance Biotechnology and
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Chauhan, A., Saxena, D. C. and Singh, S. (2015). Total dietary fiber and antioxidant
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Fokom, R., Adamou, S., Djontzo, T. E., Ngwasiri, P. N., Essono, D., Kotue, T. C.,
Ngono, E .S., Tomedi, E. M., Tchoumbougnang, F., and Nwaga D.
(2019).Quality and Properties of Cassava Base Biscuit as affected by Fish Flours
and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungi. Nutrition and Food Science
International Journal, 9(3): 59-65.

Iwe, M. O (2014). Current trends in sensory evaluation of foods. Revised edition.

Rejoint Communication Service Ltd. Uwani Enugu, Nigeria, 144-145.
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Iwegbue, C. M. A. (2020). Metal contents in some brands of biscuits consumed in

Southern Nigeria. American Journal of Food Technology, 7(1):160-167.

Mamat, H. and Hill, S. E. (2018). Structural and functional properties of major

ingredients of biscuit. International Food Research Journal, 25(2): 462- 471.

Oliveira, I.S., Lourenço, L.F.H., Sousa, C.L., Joele, M.R.S.P., Ribeiro, S.C.A.( 2015).
Composition of MSM from Brazilian catfish and technological properties of fish
flour. Food Control, 50:38–44

Oluwatoyin, O. O., Afam, I. O. and Jideani, D. B. (2015). Composition and

functionality of wheat bran and its application in some cereal food products.
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Petrović, J., Pajin, B., Seres, Z., Loncarevic, I., Fistes, A., Subaric, D. and Zaric, D.
(2016). The effect of soy flour on biscuit quality. Review of Faculty of
Engneering, Analecta Technica Szegedeinesia, 10(2): 55- 64.

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Senapati, S.R., Xavier, K.A.M., Nayak, B.B., Balange, A.K, (2017). Quality evaluation
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Ubbor, S. C., Ndife, J., Agwo, O. E., Iguh, B. N., Ekeh, J. I and Ejechi, M. E. (2021).
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66.

Fish is an excellent source of quality protein, a rich source of omega-3 fatty and mostly

has high content of micronutrients such as vitamins, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium,

potassium, and sodium. One way to improve fish consumption is the diversification of
 16

the processing line through the development of new fish derive products. It is believed

that snack products of which biscuit is one of them have been associated with ‘empty’

calories or ‘junk’. Consumer interest in healthy foods has increased in recent years,

which has prompted recent research to find methods to produce healthy and functional

foods. It is hereby important to develop a biscuit that is rich in nutritional and health

promoting properties, hence the incorporation of fish flour in the production of biscuit.