Foods and Nutrition · Lesson 4

Composition, processing, selection, storage and cookery of animal foods

WAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

WAEC: Food commodities: animal and animal products (milk and milk products such as cheese and yoghurt, eggs, meat, poultry, fish): kinds/types and structure, selection, storage, nutritive value and uses; effects of heat on animal products.

NECO: Food commodities: animal and animal products (milk and milk products such as cheese and yoghurt, eggs, meat, poultry, fish): kinds/types and structure, selection, storage, nutritive value and uses; effects of heat on animal products.

What you will learn

State the nutritive value of animal foods and compare cost of protein.
Describe types, processing, selection and storage of milk and milk products.
Describe egg structure, freshness tests, uses in cookery and effect of heat.
Explain structure of meat, factors affecting tenderness, selection and storage.
Describe selection and safe handling of poultry.
Classify fish and describe selection, cooking and preservation.
Prepare basic dishes from animal foods.

Key points

Animal foods: quality protein and minerals; perishable.
Milk composition, processing and types.
Yoghurt, nono, wara, butter, man shanu.
Egg structure and freshness tests.
Functions of eggs in cookery; effects of heat.
Meat structure, cuts, tenderness.
Meat selection, storage, effects of heat.
Poultry selection and safe cooking.
Fish classification, selection, cooking, preservation.
Practical dishes: Scotch eggs, white sauce, pepper soup.
Storage table for animal foods.

Start here: Animal foods in the diet

Animal foods are milk and milk products, eggs, meat (including offal), poultry and fish, together with other foods like snails, crayfish and edible insects. They are valued because they supply high biological value protein, readily absorbed haem iron and zinc, calcium (milk, small whole fish), and vitamin B12, which plant foods lack. Their disadvantages are cost, rapid spoilage (they are “high-risk” perishable foods), and, for some, high saturated fat and cholesterol.

General nutritive value

Food	Main nutrients	Lacking or low
Milk	HBV protein (casein, whey), calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, vitamin A, fat, lactose	iron, vitamin C (also vitamin D unless fortified)
Eggs	HBV protein, fat, iron, vitamins A, D, B group, phosphorus	carbohydrate, vitamin C; low calcium in edible part
Meat	HBV protein, iron, zinc, B vitamins (B12, niacin), fat	carbohydrate, calcium, vitamin C
Fish	HBV protein, iodine (sea fish), vitamins A and D (oily fish), omega-3 fats, calcium (if bones eaten)	carbohydrate, vitamin C

Value for money

Using illustrative prices: an egg costing ₦250 supplies about 6 g protein; a cup of cooked beans costing ₦150 supplies about 15 g; 100 g cooked chicken costing ₦900 supplies about 27 g.

Cost per 10 g protein: egg 250 ÷ 6 × 10 ≈ ₦417; beans 150 ÷ 15 × 10 = ₦100; chicken 900 ÷ 27 × 10 ≈ ₦333. Beans are the cheapest protein, though combining a little animal food (egg, fish, crayfish) with legumes and cereals gives quality at low cost.

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Practice questions

1. The sugar in milk is

lactose
sucrose
maltose
fructose

Show answer

A: lactose
Broken down by lactase.

2. HTST pasteurisation heats milk to about

100 °C for 1 hour
135 °C for 30 minutes
50 °C for 1 minute
72 °C for 15 seconds

Show answer

D: 72 °C for 15 seconds
UHT is about 135–150 °C for seconds.

3. Milk for yoghurt is cooled to about

100 °C
70 °C
43–45 °C before adding the starter
0 °C

Show answer

C: 43–45 °C before adding the starter
Ideal for the bacteria.

4. Wara (local cheese) is coagulated traditionally with extract of

lime
Calotropis procera (bomubomu)
bitter leaf
cassava leaf

Show answer

B: Calotropis procera (bomubomu)
Sorghum sheath gives red colour.

5. A stale egg placed in water

floats or stands on end
sinks and lies flat
turns blue
dissolves

Show answer

A: floats or stands on end
The air cell enlarges with age.

Key words

Pasteurisation: Mild heat treatment killing disease bacteria.
UHT: Ultra-heat treatment; long shelf life.
Homogenisation: Breaking up fat globules in milk.
Casein: Main milk protein.
Wara: West African soft cheese.
Nono: Fermented cow milk.
Chalazae: Cords anchoring the egg yolk.
Candling: Checking eggs against light.
Lecithin: Emulsifier in egg yolk.
Syneresis: Weeping of liquid from overcooked egg mixtures.
Offal: Edible internal organs.
Collagen: Connective tissue that becomes gelatin.

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