Quality of chilled ready-to-bake pizza stored in air and under modified atmospheres: Microbiological and sensory attributes

Preeti Singh, Ali Abas Wani, G. K. Goyal

                                                                          

Abstract

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) studies on microbiological and sensory analysis were conducted to extend the shelf life of ready-to-bake pizza stored at 7±1°C. The gas combinations used were: atm1: air (control), atm2: CO₂ (100%), atm3: N₂ (100%), atm4: 50% CO₂/50% N₂. Total plate count (TPC), yeasts/molds (Y/M), coliforms, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), psychrotrophs, and anaerobic spore formers were estimated at time intervals of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 days. TPC and LAB of pizza samples (atm1) reached 7.10 and 8.14 log CFU/g after 10 days of storage, respectively. Coliforms, psychrotrophs, and Y/M were significantly higher (p<0.05) for pizza samples stored in atm1 than other storage conditions of MAP. Finally, counts of anaerobic spore formers were low (<3 log CFU/g) irrespective of the packaging conditions throughout the entire storage period. It was concluded that among the 4 atmospheres examined, atm2 (100% CO₂) was the best, followed by atm4>atm3>atm1 respectively, in descending order. MAP conditions under this study may extend shelf life of pizza to considerable amount of time.

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Keywords : modified atmosphere packaging ,pizza ,microbiological quality ,sensory evaluation ,shelf life.