Author(s): Fati Mahama Bawa

Abstract:
Tomato powder production and consumption is not a very common practice among the Ghanaian people because of its poor sensory quality due to lack of effective processing equipment during its production. Swish oven method of drying tomato powder is a simple and low-cost technology that produces tomato powder with very good and acceptable sensory quality. The study examined the effect of swish oven drying on the quality of tomato powder. The researcher employed both experimental and survey approaches, the first part dealt with laboratory test to determine the nutritional value and microbial load, whilst the second part employed survey questionnaires to solicit the views of 120 respondents on the sensory acceptability of the swish oven tomato powder. The main target of the study were food operators and their customers, who were asked to examined twelve (12) sauces prepared from twelve (12) different samples. Findings of the study showed that, three of the samples which were pre-treated with sodium metabisulphite coded RTSMS1, RTSMS2 and PTSMS1 recorded higher scores of good sensory qualities. The laboratory results also indicated that, the same samples coded RTSMS1, PTSMS1 and RTSMS2 recorded less microbial count. In conclusion the study recommends the use of swish oven as a simple technology that dries tomato faster and produce good quality tomato powder.