Quality Changes during Storage of Burkina (a Millet and Milk-based) Drink

Burkina, a drink prepared from millet and milk, is gaining economic attention in Ghana due to its perceived nutritious nature and high energy content. The drink which is produced on a small-scale is usually vended without proper control of storage conditions leading to rapid loss of quality. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of storing burkina at different temperatures (4 and 30°C) on the microbial and physicochemical (pH, titratable acidity, brix and phenolic content) quality of the drink. The pH, titratable acidity, brix and phenolic content of freshly prepared burkina were 3.65, 0.49%, 2.05 and 0.26 mg GAE/100 g, respectively. Although, changes were observed, storage temperature did not have a significant effect on the physicochemical quality of burkina. The initial load of aerobic mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and yeast and moulds in the freshly prepared Burkina were 6.45, 5.49, 2.58 and 4.45 log cfu/mL, respectively. Storage at the higher temperature resulted in an increased microbial load within 48 h, leading to faster spoilage, with only marginal increases observed at the lower storage temperature.