15C-12 |
Evaluation of the stability of "Requeijão cremoso" in different packages |
A. G. F. VAN DENDER1, I. Moreno, R. M. V. Alves, and S. B. Jaime. (1) Centro de Tecnologia de Laticínios, Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos, Avenida Brasil, 2880, Campinas, CEP13073-001, Brazil "Requeijão cremoso" is a smooth processed cheese variety which is typically marketed in glass packages in the shape of a regular household glass. The use of glass as the basic packaging material for this highly popular product entails a number of disadvantages, particularly the weight of such packages, which considerably increases shipping costs, and their excessive fragility which leads to a breakage rate above 1% in the dairy plant. This study evaluated the stability of "requeijão cremoso" packed in five different containers: (1) glass containers sealed off with a tin-plate cover and closure system, (2 and 3) glass and plastic (PP) containers heat-sealed with multi-layer plastic (PEAD or PP)/aluminum film and (4 and 5) 2 different plastic squeeze tubes, one without oxygen barrier properties (LDPE-HDPE) and the other with oxygen barrier properties (coextruded LDPE-HDPE/EVOH/LDPE-HDPE). Samples of each package type were stored at 4±2ºC/75±10%RU and 10±2ºC/60±5%RU for 75 days. The shelf life profile of the different samples was determined by physical-chemical analysis (pH; water activity; total solids; fat in dry matter, proteolysis indexes), microbiological analysis (aerobic plate counts; aerobic and anaerobic spore-forming bacteria; yeasts and moulds) and sensorial evaluation (flavor, color, odor and texture). No significant differences were found between the key properties of the product contained in the 5 different package types tested after storage at 2 different temperature levels. The composition of the gas contained in the headspace remained constant throughout storage. This indicates that no oxygen was consumed by fat oxidation reactions, a fact confirmed by the sensorial evaluation which did not detect any rancid flavors. All package types tested were found to be adequate to preserve the properties of "requeijão cremoso" for up to 75 days at 10ºC. Any of these packages may be selected on the basis of other criteria, such as availability, cost and convenience.
Session 15C, Dairy Foods
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