Lija Dukalska

Novatoriska iepakojuma ietekme uz piena pomādes konfekšu – šerbeta – kvalitāti uzglabāšanas laikā / Influence of Innovative Packaging on the Quality of Milk Pomade Sweets – Sherbet – during Storage

Abstract The objective of the research was to evaluate the quality of milk pomade sweet - sherbet - packaged in different packaging materials, using various packaging technologies. Four packaging materials were employed: two biodegradable films (Ceramis®-PLA coated with a barrier of pure silicon oxide [SiOx], and metallised NatureFlex 23NM), and two conventional films (metallised BOPET/PE, and Multibarrier 60 HFP as a control). Samples of sherbet were packaged using several technologies: active packaging (with incorporated ironbased oxygen scavenging sachets), modified atmosphere packaging consisting of 100% CO2, and surrounding air ambience (control). The physicochemical properties - moisture, hardness, and colour - were analysed before packaging and after 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 storage weeks. The samples were stored at room temperature - +21±1 °C. At the beginning of the experiment, the quality of sherbet was excellent in terms of taste, smell, colour, moisture content, and hardness expressed by cutting force. During the storage, those properties changed and the quality of the product decreased. The research suggests this can be explained by the loss of moisture in some samples leading to hardening of the product, which in its turn directly influenced the colour stability expressed by total colour difference ΔE*.

Changes in physically-chemical parameters of Latvian cranberries during storage.

Abstract The main purpose of the present research was to investigate the changes in physical-chemical parameters of fresh Latvian cranberries during storage. Cranberry (′Steven′, ′Bergman′, ′Pilgrim′, ′Early Black′, and ′Ben Lear′) fruit were collected at a processing plant in Kurzeme region, Latvia, in the first part of October 2010. For the experiments, also wild cranberries were collected in the bogs of the same region and at the same time. The berries were rinsed with tap water for 3±1 min, then strained for 10±1 min (mainly for visual cleanness), and afterwards stored in closed non-perforated polypropylene (PP) boxes in air ambiance and in glass jars in a cold boiled-water ambiance at 3±1 °C. Quality parameters of the berries were tested each three months using standard methods: vitamin C content - by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); organic acids - by HPLC; moisture - by oven-dry method; colour parameters - by device COLOR TEC PMC; pH - by potentiometric method; anthocyanin - by spectrophotometrical method; and phenolic compounds - by HPLC. The shelf life of cranberries packaged in closed PP boxes in air ambiance was six months, but of cranberries packaged in glass jars in water ambiance - 12 months. The research showed that differences in moisture content, pH value, colour intensity, and anthocyanin content among the cranberry cultivars under different ambient conditions during storage were not significant. During 12 months of cranberry storage in glass jars in water ambiance, the content of vitamin C decreased on average by 90%, organic acids - by 54%, and phenolic compounds - by 60%. During six-month storage in closed PP boxes in air ambiance, the content of vitamin C decreased on average by 99%, organic acids - by 30%, and phenolic compounds - by 34%.