SHELF-LIFE ASPECTS OF TOASTED BREAKFAST CEREAL WITH AND WITHOUT FRUIT

Toasted-breakfast-cereal is a high quality, high nutritional dry food made of granulated particles. Quality characteristics are important for consumer acceptance and these can be influenced by environmental conditions throughout storage, which can be detrimental for product quality and shell-life. The aim of this study was to identify the critical quality parameters, determine the influence of environmental conditions on quality parameters and study if the presence of fruit affected the cereals. Toasted-breakfast-cereal was stored according to a mixed full factorial experimental design with two and three levels at temperature, relative humidity and presence of fruit to measure the effect of these factors on the quality of cereal. The presence of fruit exhibited a significant effect on the critical quality parameters, resulting in a product with lower moisture content. Therefore, a package with good barrier properties to water would be recommended for storage of toasted-breakfast-cereal with and without fruit.