On-farm evaluation of the impact of drying and storage on the carotenoid content of orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomea batata Lam.)

Drying of orange‐fleshed sweet potato was evaluated under African rural conditions. Three locally built dryers (open‐air sun, tunnel and shade) were tested using Resisto and MGCL01 varieties in Mozambique. Total carotenoid losses were low in all dryers being 9.2% on average. After drying, sweet potato chips were stored in a traditional way (jute bags inside a mud house). Chip size (thin, thick chip or slice) had a significant effect on drying (P < 0.05) but not on storage and variety had an effect on both. Total carotenoid losses during storage were much higher being 83.7% on average, after 4 months, with main individual carotenoids fitting a first‐order kinetics degradation. Globally, carotenoid losses on‐farm or on‐research station were of similar level.