Assessing consumer acceptability of watermelon seed brittle

Abstract

Poor health has been noted as a development challenge especially in developing countries. Inadequate nutritional intake has been cited as one contributory factor. Though many products are available and can be used as food, many people are not aware of this. Watermelon seed has been noted as one of the products that can be used for food and medicine. One product that uses watermelon seed is watermelon seed brittle. The objective of the study was to develop an acceptable food product from watermelon seed and ascertain consumer acceptability. The study involved 50 respondents in Kwadaso sub metropolis. It was an experimental study design involving controlled and uncontrolled respondents. The study revealed that, watermelon seeds are used as medicine and food. 33 (66 %) of the respondents mentioned that, watermelon seeds are edible. The study also discovered that, watermelon seed brittle was appreciated by more than half of the respondents. The sensory comparison revealed that, groundnut seed brittle was ranked higher in all the sensory characteristics by recording 36.1 and closely followed by watermelon seed brittle with total points of 35.5 on the hedonic ratings. In assessing the sensory characteristics of watermelon seed brittle product alone, it was found that, respondents scored the colour (16 %), the taste (25 %), the texture (26 %), the flavour (19 %) and the appearance (14 %). The study recommended that, effective public education in creating awareness on the uses of watermelon seed is very necessary. NGO’s and other governmental institutions should support people to learn more products developed from watermelon seeds since it can serve as an income generating activity. The Public Health Institutions should educate the public on the health benefits of watermelon seed products. Finally, the study recommends that, further studies should be carried out on nutritional analysis, microbial analysis and the shelf life of watermelon seed brittle.