EFFECT OF PACKAGING FILM AND OXYGEN ABSORBER ON SHELF LIFE EXTENSION OF CHINESE PASTRY

Chinese pastry (Kha-nom Pia) is a bakery product composed of crust and filling that has a short shelf life, approximately 5-7 days at room temperature. Mold is an important role on the spoilage. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of packaging film and oxygen absorber on shelf life of Chinese pastry. Preservative-free Chinese pastry samples, with a filling of mung bean and salted egg yolk, were packed in a plastic film either a nylon/linear low density polyethylene (Nylon/LLDPE) or a nylon/cast polypropylene (Nylon/CPP), and oxygen absorber. Control sample was packed in polypropylene bag without oxygen absorber. Microbial counts, aw and texture analysis were examined during storage at room temperature. Both Nylon/LLDPE and Nylon/CPP in combination with oxygen absorber effectively extended shelf life of the Chinese pastry from 5 days (Control) to more than 30 days. However, Nylon/CPP retarded microbial growth better than Nylon/LLDPE. For texture analysis, hardness of crust and firmness of filling tended to decrease during storage. The samples stored in Nylon/CPP showed higher values of the hardness and the firmness than Nylon/LLDPE. Therefore, Nylon/CPP and oxygen absorber was suitable for prolong shelf life of Chinese pastry.Keywords: bakery product, nylon, oxygen absorber, pastry, shelf life