Selection of suitable packing materials for shelf stable composite cereal nutrient bar

Abstract

A study was conducted to develop a composite shelf stable nutrient bar without adding preservatives by using dry ingredients such as maize, green gram flour, puffed rice, dates, roasted ground nut and tutti- frutti (mixed dried fruits). Liquid glucose along with sugar syrup was used as the binding agent and the mixture was heated to 100"C until all the ingredients were thoroughly homogenized with the binding agent. After heating, the nutrient bar mixture was cooled, cut into 2.5cm x 7cm and stored at room temperature of 3OqC. The nutrient bars were packed in three different packing materials such as Triple Layered Aluminum Foil ITLAF) and Polypropylene [150 and 300 gauge) to assess the shelf stability of product' The physico-chemical properties such as pH, hardness and moisture were analyzed, during storage. The consumer acceptability of the nutrient bars was done using 5-point hedonic scale. The developed nutrient bar of 100g contained carbohydrate 38.2g, protein 8.7g, fat r2.2g, dietary fiber 2.6g9, ash 178g, Fe 4.3 mg, Ca52'4mg, P 151.6mg and energy value of 295.6l Kcal. Nutrient bars which were packed in the polypropylene showed significant decrease of pH, hardness and increase of moisture levels compared to TLAF. The organoleptic assessments showed that there were no significant differences in nutrient bars packed in TLAF, while nutrient bars which were stored in polypropylene varied significantly [p< 0'05J during 10 weeks of storage period compared to freshly made bars. No harmful total plate count was observed in the nutrient bars which were stored in TLAF. Therefore, it could be concluded that nutrient bar could be stored in TLAF packing material at 30qc for 10 weeks without any significant changes in the quality characteristics.