FIIRO's Preliminary Results Okay Cassava Bread

The health concern of cassava bread consumers, especially people prone to diabetes, is being addressed by the Glycemic index (GI) studies embarked upon by the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Lagos. GI refers to how much and how quickly sugar is released into the body from ingested foods. the higher the index, the faster the food item will release sugar into the blood stream. Rather than rely on general online information alone to find out how these carbohydrate from the cassava flour is handled by the human body, the Institute has taken up research studies that use the cassava-inclusion loaves of 10 and 20 percent to generate the result locally.

And so far, according to the Director General and CEO of the Institute, Dr. Gloria Elemo, the preliminary result has been encouraging, declaring that the cassava is quite safe. The Director General said with inclusion of cassava flour of lower GI than wheat flour, the bread becomes even healthier and more so for even diabetic patients. She said the study stems from the fact that the Institute is unwaveringly commited to the cassava flour production and inclusion in bread, a transformation agenda issue of the Federal Government. She said the cassava industry that is capable of generating about three million jobs is worth all the effort being put in by FIIRO over the past few decades. With a whopping N635 million spent on wheat importation yearly, cassava flour inclusion of 20-40 percent make economic s sense, a situation that would turn around the fortunes of Nigerian farmers and stakeholders in the value chain.
Dr. Elemo commended the Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, for the bold step in bringing back to life the cassava bread initiative, most especially the production of composite bread in commercial quantity. She said with the collective effort of government agencies, the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan will be realized in due cost. She also enjoined the national assembly to give this initiative much-needed legislative backing.
FIIRO, according to the Director General, has not only perfected the technology of 10 percent High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) inclusion in wheat flour but also transferred the technology to numerous flour millers and bakers in the country. She added that wheat flour millers were not opposed to cassava flour inclusion, pointing out that the sector thinks the entire process should be taking in phases as they are also ready to partner with the Federal Government. To further show its zeal, FIIRO baking laboratory produces composite (Cassava/Wheat) bread, which it sells to workers on a Daily basis, as a demonstration of the technical feasibility and economic viability of the technology.