Effects of Various Packaging Materials on Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Vacuum Fried Carrot Chips during Storage

Aims: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of type of packaging materials and time of storage on the physicochemical characteristics of vacuum fried carrot chips. Place and Duration of Study: The research work was carried out at the Dept. of Processing and Food Engineering (P&FE), Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Kerala during the year of 2019-20. Methodology: The vacuum fried carrot chips were packed into three different packaging materials namely low-density polyethylene stand pouch (LDPE), laminated aluminum flexible pouch and polypropylene. All three packaging materials were tested with and without N2 gas filling. The storage studies were conducted for the vacuum fried carrot chips which was fried under optimized processing conditions: Frying Temperature-100⁰C; Frying Pressure-13 kPa; and Frying Time- 20 min. The experimental study was conducted for 4 months period and data was recorded for every 30 days interval. The packed samples were stored at the ambient temperature (25±5ºC) and relative humidity (70±10%) for storage studies. The quality attributes such as moisture content, water activity, oil content, hardness and colour values of the chips were determined during the storage studies. Results: Based on the research study, the results shown that the oil content remained constant throughout 120 days of storage period in all packaging materials. The water activity, moisture content, hardness and colour values got increased with increase in storage time. The moisture content, water activity and hardness values were less in laminated aluminium pouches with N2 gas filling compared to polypropylene and LDPE.