CAIRO: A study indicated that spices like cloves, cinnamon, molasses and orange juice that are added to our cakes are essential in containing the poisonous fungi that infest the flour which these cakes are commonly made from.
The study conducted by Dr Iman Higazi, of the National Research Centre and Dr Badwia Hamza, of the Agricultural Research Center, has been triggered by the fact that so many children died in Nigeria as a result of consuming bread that was made of polluted flour.
As several types of cake are currently being offered to consumers of all ages, it was important to carry out scientific tests on them.
The tests carried out by the two experts on random samples of locally made cakes containing the spices and substances mentioned above have shown that aspergilla and penicillium, two types of fungi, were the most common types found in flour.
The tests also revealed that while cinnamon was the most effective in blocking the growth of flour fungi, zenithen, molasses were of insignificant effect.
It was also found that orange juice is directly linked with thwarting the impact of aspergilla.
Cakes should be stored at 8°C for a certain period of time. The study showed that when used in making cakes, molasses could extend the storage period.
