Abstract :
Cassava root is endowed with many food potentials such as garri, lafu, bobozi, abacha, tapioca, starch and other high-quality cassava flour all of which are characterized with different processing methods. In order to curtail post-harvest deterioration after two days of harvest, the need to process into different product becomes important. Possibilities of drying cassava tapioca by firewood and gas flaring as practiced by the indigenes of Agbahar-Otor, have the potential of causing contamination. Results from these findings reveal that there is no significant difference in the proximate content, but the core heavy metals that could be toxic to health were not detected with the exception of Pb and Cd which recorded values of 0.02 mg/10g and 0.01 mg/100g with the use of firewood for drying, which is still within the WHO permissible limit. Thus the process involved in the drying of cassava tapioca as practiced by the indigenes of Agbaha-Otor is safe with caution placed on the use of firewood drying technique as a possible route to heavy metal contamination which could accumulate over time resulting to a serious health concern.
Keyword :
Cassava, Roasting, Tapioca Grits, Proximate, Drying