Nutritional and Health Aspects of Food in Western Africa

Ogugua Charles Aworh is a retired George Coumantaros Distinguished Professor, Department of Food Technology, at the University of Ibadan. From 2020-2022, he was President-Elect of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, and the Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund. He obtained a B.Sc. with honors from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; MSc and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from Cornell University, USA. He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, and a former Chairman of NIFST Body of Fellows. His areas of research include post-harvest technology, food processing, food safety and biotechnology. He has published extensively, supervised 120 MSc and 17 PhD students and is mentor for African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) and International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) young scientists.Dr. Patricia Gyaa Owusu-Darko is a Senior Lecturer in Food Technology at the Kumasi Technical University Ghana and adjunct faculty member of Akenten Appiah Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Development. She was a member of the committee that drafted the approved syllabus for the Hospitality Programs at the Technical Universities and for the Food Technology program at KsTU . She is also a consultant and resource person for the Ghana Tourism Authority, Department of Social Welfare, Nestle, Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Program. She has supervised over two dozen postgraduate and over three hundred undergraduate project works in the Hospitality Departments across the country. She has expertise in food safety and hygiene training, post-production value addition of local staples towards food security and the development of lexicon for specific food products.

• 1. An Overview of West African Traditional Foods: Processing, Safety and Health Benefits2. History of Eating Habits, Food Cultures, Traditions and Taboos of Western Africa: Health Benefits, Safety Issues and Regulations3. Technological and Nutraceutical Development Potentials of Some Traditional and Underutilized Plant Foods of the Savanna Region of Cameroon4. Traditional and Ethic Foods of the Coastal Belt of Ghana5. Health and Nutritional Perspectives of Foods in the Middle Belt of Ghana6. Health and Nutritional Perspectives of Traditional and Ethnic Foods of the Northern Belt of Ghana7. Importance of Food and Culture in Nigeria with Special Reference to Yam8. Indigenous Foods of South Eastern Part of Nigeria9. Traditional and Ethnic Foods of the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria10. Ogi: A Prominent Traditional Cereal Product of South Western Nigeria11. Selected Traditional Legume Products of South-Western Nigeria12. Traditional Cassava Products of South-Western Nigeria13. Selected Traditional Green Vegetable Products of South-Western Nigeria14. Traditional and Ethnic Foods of Northern Nigeria15. Traditional Dairy, Meat and Fish Products of West AfricaAppendix: A Compilation of some Recipes of Ghana Dishes