Shelf life studies of seaweed based extruded snacks coated with different flavour-oil combinations at different storage environments

Abstract

Three different flavours (chat masala, tomato and pudina flavours) were coated at 15 per cent to the brown seaweed enriched rice-corn based extruded snack which were prepared under optimized extrusion conditions. The respective flavours were coated by dusting to dried extruded snacks along with sunflower oil spray at 3 levels. The coated products were packed in metalized polyester-polyethylene laminated pouches with nitrogen gas flushing. A storage study was conducted at ambient and accelerated storage conditions. The samples were analyzed on 0th, 30th, 60th and 90th days. Among the nine different flavour-oil combinations, brown seaweed based extruded snack coated using 15 per cent chat masala flavour dusted along with 10 per cent sunflower oil was found to have maximum storage stability at ambient and accelerated storage environments. The chat masala flavour coating was found to mask the undesirable seaweed flavor at the end of storage study. The quality as well as sensory attributes of the product after 90 days of storage at ambient environment was satisfactory. The moisture content, free fatty acid content and peroxide value of the product at the end of 90 days storage period in ambient conditions were 4.3 per cent, 0.9 as per cent oleic acid and 0.3 meq 02 respectively. There was a significant increase in hardness and moisture content in the products stored in accelerated conditions after 60 days.