Sorghum and finger millet grains are traditional staple foods in Kenya. However, they have naturally occurring anti-nutritional factors, such as phytic acid, that decrease their dietary availability. This work determined the effect of fermentation and malting on the phytic acid content of, and mineral availability in five varieties of sorghum and four varieties of finger millet grain grown in Kenya. Phytic acid ranged from 875.1 to 2,211.9 mg/100 g in sorghum. The levels in finger millet ranged from 851.6 to 1,419.4 mg /100 g grain. Fermentation resulted in a mean decrease of phytic acid in of 64.8% after 96 hours and 39.0% after 72 hours in sorghum grain. In finger millet, there was a mean decrease of 72.3% and 54.3% after 96 and 72 hours, respectively. Malting also resulted in a mean decrease of 23.9 and 45.3% after 72 and 96 hours, respectively. The extent of decrease of phytic acid differed among the grain varieties. Fermentation increased the rate of available iron, manganese, and calcium in both sorghum and finger millet. The available minerals were generally higher in finger millet than in sorghum after fermentation. Fermentation was also more effective than malting in reducing phytic acid in sorghum and finger millet. Simple traditional food processing methods can therefore be used to increase mineral availability.

Developing countries have uniquely intriguing challenges to implementation of food safety regulations as presented at a global scale and thus would benefit from a scientific approach that best suits them. Some common characteristics of food processing industries in the developing world include: they are small scale, cottage in size, mostly start at backyard or in dingy premises, more often than not, are managed by non-food technologists and who are reluctant to engage food technologists whom they believe could be more expensive or unnecessary addition to their current needs. At the same time, they are a bit skeptical of regulating institutions, have no idea as to the acts and legal requirements regulating food business premises and hence prefer keeping their business unofficial. From the foregoing, it is critical that approaches that address these challenges are applied in implementing food safety standards. This chapter reviews these unique challenges and presents case studies from Asia, West Africa and East Africa as well as innovative approaches/strategies that could accelerate implementation of food safety legislations in the developing world.

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Indigenous knowledge and practices are important aspects of a society's culture and its technology. They include accumulated knowledge, as well as skills and technology of the local people, usually derived from their direct interaction with their local environment. These aspects need due recognition and full understanding and utilization because of the valuable contributions to food security, especially in African communities. Africa's people have traditionally utilized indigenous knowledge, skills and structures, most often locally developed and handed down in the course of centuries. Insufficient attention has been given to this local knowledge within the mainstream food security development and management interventions. However, there is now increasing awareness of the fact that technology includes not only energy sources and tools, but also knowledge and skills, as well as social organizations. It is, therefore, imperative to approach indigenous communities as partners and collaborators in all food security endeavors in order to realize the objective of sustainability. African communities offer a vast array of indigenous knowledge and practices in food technology that are favorable to the food supply, as well as to food quality and food safety and thus directly contribute to food security. As such, indigenous knowledge and practices in food technology that have proved capable of ensuring food security need to be implemented before considering the introduction of external ones if food security is to be realized in Africa. Emphasis of the same should be especially made for foods that are adapted to local conditions thus improving food access, safe food availability, and utilization to meet local and regional needs. This paper seeks to outline the numerous contributions and enormous potentials that indigenous knowledge and practices in food technology have in ensuring food security in Africa.

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