PHD IN FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Title of thesis: Production, utilization, and processing of Kenyan guavas:Development of nutrient-enriched guava nectars from local varieties.

• Summary of work done

Assessment of the current status of guava value chains in
Kenya while contributing to guava value addition by developing nutrient-enriched guavanectars

• Key findings

Despite the country's favorable climatic conditions for guava farming, there is a critical lack of commercial production and non-existent industrial processing. Neglect of the Kenyan guava results in losses for more than 75% of guava farming households, whose annual production exceeds 11Mt. Raw guava fruit sales were extremely poor, with prices ranging from Ksh 2 to10 per kg. However, the processed guavas were well received by consumers, and based on market pricing for similar products, the developed products fetched Ksh 200-250 per litre, translating to an average profit of Ksh 120-160 per kg of processed fruit. A food-to-food fortification using moringa leaf extracts resulted in nutritionally superior nectars with boostedmicronutrients (zinc and iron), macronutrients (calcium and potassium) and phytochemicals (phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant activities).