Talk:Fonio

Appellations in English (& other languages) for Digitaria spp. in Africa

User:Catjacket added a phrase to the article intro stating that "Findo" is another name for fonio. I moved it to hidden comment pending determination as to how to handle multiple names in the article. Afaik, "findo" is not widely used (I never heard it in 11 years in West Africa, including living in 2 areas where fonio was a significant crop). It is certainly true that what we now usually call "fonio" has various names in the various languages of the region, and I'm guessing that "Findo" may be one of those. Howeve, since these are many, it wouldn't make sense to put them or some selection of them in the intro part of this article. A section for names for fonio in major West African languages would seem to be the best approach.

THere is, however, another name used in English for fonio - "acha" - which is more commonly used in Nigeria, I think, and which probably should be at the head of the article as an "also called" after "fonio." It happens to be a loan from Hausa ("acca"). There are actually fonio products marketed with "acha" on the label (in English), so it would help to mention this early in the article. -A12n (talk) 19:39, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

'Findo' is Mandinka. I think a section on other names would be great. Catjacket (talk) 21:50, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Additional Information about the Impact of Processing Methods on Nutrient Value

I would like to add the following new section with the title "Impact of Processing Methods on Nutrient Value" after the already existing section "Cultivation and processing". I believe these additions will support the existing content about the nutritional value of fonio and give more insight into the different processing methods that are already explained above:

Before consumption, fonio grains must be processed using mechanical (dehusking, milling) or thermal (precooking, parboiling, roasting) methods. Depending on the processing method, the nutrient value may be affected.

Regarding the macronutrients, the carbohydrate content remains higher when the grains are precooked rather than roasted. The protein content is much lower after milling because the bran that gets removed contains a lot of protein. The highest protein content is achieved when parboiling. The lipid content is increased when roasted and decreased when milled or precooked.

Regarding the micronutrients, the iron and zinc content remains the highest when parboiled while milling leads to a loss due to the removal of the bran. Phytate, an anti-nutritional factor that inhibits the absorption of minerals like iron and zinc, is reduced by washing and cooking but is still high enough to inhibit adequate mineral absorption.

Generally, parboiled fonio shows the best nutritional composition when compared to the other processing methods. However, parboiling fonio does not lead to as efficient redistribution of nutrients as is the case with parboiled rice. Additionally, this process changes the color of the fonio grains which is disliked by some consumers.

The following references were used:

Koreissi-Dembélé, Yara; Fanou-Fogny, Nadia; Hulshof, Paul J.M.; Brouwer, Inge D. (2013-03). "Fonio (Digitaria exilis) landraces in Mali: Nutrient and phytate content, genetic diversity and effect of processing". Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 29 (2): 134–143. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2012.07.010

Ballogou, Vénérande Y.; Sagbo, Fresnellia S.; Soumanou, Mohamed M.; Manful, John T.; Toukourou, Fatiou; Hounhouigan, Joseph D. (2015-03). "Effect of processing method on physico-chemical and functional properties of two fonio (Digitaria exilis) landraces". Journal of Food Science and Technology. 52 (3): 1570–1577. doi:10.1007/s13197-013-1150-4 Jabis23 (talk) 14:41, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

More on the Nutrition Particulars of this Grain is Needed

For example, what nutrients, including vitamins & minerals, does it provide? What percentage of the Daily Requirement does a serving provide? Which of the essential amino acids is provided. — Lentower (talk) 13:49, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

There appear to be no reliable sources for the nutrient content of fonio. For most food articles on Wikipedia, we use the USDA FoodData Central, which has no entry for fonio. Zefr (talk) 17:56, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Does WHO, the EU, foreign government agencies equivalent to the USDA, NGOs, etc. have any info? Reliable sources are not just US sources. — Lentower (talk) 21:11, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Usually not, and not in the detail and updating done by the USDA. Each of the multiple nutrients for each food requires a separate assay - which one can assume is why international organizations (and Wikipedia) are happy to use the USDA analyses - and regular hands-on sample collection is a laborious task, which the USDA accomplishes by a large field staff to update the new and evolving food supply. No other organization has this capacity or dedication. Zefr (talk) 21:56, 3 September 2024 (UTC)