DETERMINATION OF CYANIDE CONCENTRATION IN GARRI SOLD IN OZORO

Garri, a flour made from fresh cassava tubers have been known to contain residual cyanide after processing. Cyanide is poisonous and ingestion of garri beyond the permissible limit can lead to chronic toxicity. This study investigated the presence of this cyanide in garri samples taken from different vendors in Ozoro to ascertain whether or not they are below the permissible level. The alkaline picrate method was used for screening the samples for residual cyanide content. Four of the samples contained cyanide in the range of 2.10-9.10mgHCN/kg which falls below the permissible limit while the remaining two samples had higher residual cyanide of 11.78 and 15.30mgHCN/kg which is above the permissible limit (10.0mgHCN/kg). The samples with concentration above 10mgHCN/kg are from areas where the cassava mash was fermented for less than 12 hours.