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2011 17: 23 originally published online 10 January 2011Food Science and Technology InternationalA.M. Sanguinetti, A. Del Caro, N.P. Mangia, N. Secchi, P. Catzeddu and A. Piga

Microbial Growth and Sensory PropertiesQuality Changes of Fresh Filled Pasta During Storage: Influence of Modified Atmosphere Packaging on

  

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Quality Changes of Fresh Filled Pasta During Storage:

Influence of Modified Atmosphere Packaging on Microbial

Growth and Sensory Properties

A.M. Sanguinetti,1 A. Del Caro,1 N.P. Mangia,1 N. Secchi,2 P. Catzeddu2

and A. Piga1,*

1Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali Agrarie e Biotecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Universita degli Studidi Sassari, Viale Italia 39/A, 07100 Sassari, Italy

2Porto Conte Ricerche Srl, Localita Tramariglio � 07041 Alghero, Sassari, Italy

This study evaluated the shelf life of fresh pasta filled with cheese subjected to modified atmosphere

packaging (MAP) or air packaging (AP). After a pasteurization treatment, fresh pasta was packagedunder a 50/50 N2/CO2 ratio or in air (air batch). Changes in microbial growth, in-package gas composition,chemical�physical parameters and sensory attributes were monitored for 42 days at 4 �C. The pasteuri-

zation treatment resulted in suitable microbiological reduction. MAP allowed a mold-free shelf life of thefresh filled pasta of 42 days, whereas air-packaged samples got spoilt between 7 and 14 days. The hurdleapproach used (MAP and low storage temperature) prevented the growth of pathogens and alterativemicroorganisms. MAP samples maintained a high microbiological standard throughout the storage period.

The panel judged MAP fresh pasta above the acceptability threshold throughout the shelf life.

Key Words: fresh filled pasta, modified atmosphere packaging, sensory analysis, shelf life

INTRODUCTION

Italy is the world leader in pasta production. The well-

known dry pasta has been flanked since the 1970s by a

new product with higher water content, called fresh

pasta. This product may be prepared by incorporating

eggs in the dough (tagliatelle, fettucine) or by filling a

sheeted dough with a spiced mixture of ground meat,

cheese or vegetables (tortellini, ravioli, etc.). In the last

decade, fresh filled pasta has assumed great importance

in Italy and abroad. Both the dough and the filling have

a high to very high water activity, which enables micro-

biological growth and considerably limits the shelf life.

Contamination of the ingredients while raw or during

the processing steps may result in toxin formation

by different pathogens, such as Bacillus cereus,

Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus and

Salmonella enteridis (Giannuzzi, 1998). A suitable pas-

teurization treatment before packaging of fresh pasta is

required by Italian law (Presidenza della Repubblica,

2001), which states that packaged pasta must haveundergone a thermal treatment at least equivalent topasteurization and that storage must be carried out ata maximum temperature of 4 �C. The pasteurizationtreatment aims at reducing the vegetative microbialload and at changing some quality attributes, such asdough color and cooking behavior. This thermal treat-ment, generally carried out in an injected steam belt pas-teurizer, also provides other beneficial effects, such asreduced water activity values and increased starch gela-tinization, which results in less water absorption duringcooking (Zuliani, 1998; Zardetto et al., 2002).

Various studies have evaluated the effects of thermaltreatment on microbial reduction and on qualitychanges. Some authors have shown a reduction offrom 3 to 4 logarithmic cycles of vegetative microbialcells after pasteurization treatment (Aureli et al., 1993;Zardetto et al., 1999). Appropriate thermal treatments(F70

10>40) have been found to destroy the vegetative cellsof pathogens (Giavedoni et al., 1993; Lopez et al., 1998;Zardetto et al., 1999). The residual risk of growth ofspore-forming pathogenic bacteria can be controlledby strict control of the storage temperature (Glass andDoyle, 1991). Moreover, the adoption of modifiedatmosphere packaging (MAP) allows a further increasein shelf life. MAP involves the use of O2 concentrationsbelow atmospheric levels, relatively high CO2 concentra-tions (20% or higher) and N2 as an inert filler gasin order to preserve freshness and improve food safety.

*To whom correspondence should be sent(e-mail: pigaa@uniss.it).Received 23 September 2009; revised 16 October 2009.

Food Sci Tech Int 2011;17(1):0023–7� SAGE Publications 2010Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and SingaporeISSN: 1082-0132DOI: 10.1177/1082013210368742

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N2 also prevents packaging collapse but has little or noantimicrobial activity, whereas CO2 has both bacterio-static and fungistatic activities (Daniels et al., 1985),although they depend on several factors such as thetarget organism, concentration, storage temperatureand water activity of the food (Smith et al., 1988;Farber, 1991). The use of packaging atmospherescontaining N2 and more than 30% CO2 extends theshelf life of fresh filled pasta (Castelvetri, 1991).However, the simultaneous presence of high CO2 andlow O2 concentrations in the package headspace doesnot guarantee a mold-free shelf life of the food products(Ellis et al., 1993, 1994). Tabak and Cook (1978)reported mold growth under O2 concentrations as lowas 1�2%, whereas lower concentrations completelydepressed the germination, growth and sporulation ofmost molds (El Goorani, 1981; Ellis et al., 1994).Cooking of fresh filled pasta is generally achieved bydipping in boiling water, according to the traditionalway of cooking dry pasta. However, some fresh filledpasta products are deep fried and served as sweets. Inthis case, the dough formulation includes eggs or fats inaddition to the flour, water and salt.

Several studies have evaluated the influence of pas-teurization and MAP on extension of the shelf life ofdifferent fresh filled pastas to be cooked in boiling water(Castelvetri, 1991; Giavedoni et al., 1993; Zardetto et al.,1999; Vallone, 2001; Zardetto, 2005). However, as far aswe know, there are no reports dealing with extension ofthe shelf life of fresh filled pasta to be fried. Moreover,there is no information about sensory changes occurringwhen mold-free shelf life extension is achieved.

The current shelf life of this product is about 10 days,while the producer’s goal is to extend it to at least30 days. We are trying to extend the shelf life to morethan 40 days. The aim of this study was to assess theeffects of MAP packaging on the mold-free shelf life offresh pasta filled with cheese, as well as to evaluatechanges in sensory characteristics and other chemi-cal�physical parameters that are primary factors inextending the shelf life of a food product.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sample Preparation

The fresh pasta samples were prepared by a localplant according to the following recipe: the doughwas prepared by mixing semolina flour (80%), animalfat (15%) and water (5%) for 20min in a descendingarms mixer (mod. BTF 80, San Cassiano, RoddiD’Alba, Italy). The dough was then sheeted by passingit through a 40mm roller-sheeter (mod. Raff, Minipan,Massa Lombarda, Italy) and then compressed usinganother sheeter (mod. Rondostar, Rondo Doge,

Burgdorf, Switzerland) to obtain 6mm sheeted

dough. The filling was prepared by mixing fresh

grated cheese (95%) and orange flavor (5%). The

sheeted dough and filling were combined in a modified

double sheet ravioli machine (mod. PRP 300, Italgi,

Genoa, Italy) to prepare 12 cm diameter fresh pasta

samples. Each sample consisted of two circular dough

sheets containing the filling.

Methods

Pasteurization and Cooling

The product was conveyed through a 3-m chamber

equipped with a perforated steel conveyor belt (mod.

Custom, Italgi, Genoa, Italy). The pasteurization treat-

ment was performed with injected steam at a chamber

temperature of 91±1 �C and treatment time of 9min.

This set of parameters assured a suitable lethality (FzTref

)

value, while maintaining the optimal external appear-

ance of the product. A F1070 of 50min was reached after

treatment. Leaving the pasteurization chamber, the

product passed through two fans to eliminate the con-

densed vapor on the surface and was cooled to 4 �C

within 15min inside a forced circulating air freezer

(mod. BSC 46, Bongard, Holtzheim, France).

Calculation of the F1070 Value (Lethality)

The lethality of a thermal process, or F, is an equiv-

alent time (in minutes) at a particular reference temper-

ature calculated from all time�temperature

combinations in the process and related to their capacity

to destroy spores or vegetative cells of a particular

organism. The F value is calculated with respect to a

reference microorganism characterized by the parame-

ters D and z. D is the time required at any temperature

to destroy a log cycle of a given microorganism and z the

temperature range causing a log reduction in D.The lethality of a pasteurization process is normally

calculated at 70 �C and a value of z equal to 10 is nor-

mally adopted. F is best expressed with a subscript

denoting the temperature and a superscript indicating

the z value for the microorganism being considered.

Thus, F1070 is generally used for a pasteurization process.

The penetration heat curve was used for the F1070 calcu-

lation and was obtained using a data logger penetration

thermocouple inserted in the coldest point of the prod-

uct (mod. Micropack III, Mesa Laboratories Inc,

Lakewood, CO, USA). The temperatures were recorded

every 10 s and transferred to a personal computer with

specific software (Data Trace RF, Version, Mesa

Laboratories Inc, Lakewood, CO, USA), which enabled

us to build the penetration curve and calculate the

F1070 value (Figure 1).

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Product Packaging and Storage

The cooled samples were packaged inside multilayer(EVOH/PS/PE) gas barrier trays (two samples per tray;Aerpack B5-30, Coopbox Italia, Reggio Emilia, Italy)and wrapped with a multilayer (EVOH/OPET/PE) gasand water barrier film with a thickness of 54 mm (EOM360 B, Sealed Air, USA). The gas transmission rates forthe tray were: O2, 1.07 cm

3/m2�24 h bar at 23 �C; CO2,

5.35 cm3m�2/24 h bar at 23 �C; water vapor,63 g/m2

�24 h at 38 �C. The gas transmission rates forthe film were: O2, 4 cm3/m2

�24 h bar at 23 �C; CO2,13 cm3/m2

�24 h bar at 23 �C: water vapor, 9 g/m2�24 h

at 38 �C. Packaging was carried out with a semi-automatic vacuum packaging machine (Mod. Reetray250, Reepack s.r.l., Seriate, Italy). Two experimentalbatches were prepared: the first packaged with air pack-aging (AP batch) and the second (MAP batch) preparedunder N2/CO2 (50/50). The samples were stored at 4 �Cand analyzed at 0, 7, 14, 28, 35 and 42 days.

Microbiological Analysis

The determinations were carried out on the doughand the filling of freshly prepared, pasteurized andstored samples. A 10 g sample was homogenized in90mL of sterile Ringer’s solution (Oxoid, Milan, Italy)for 2min in a Stomaker Lab blender 80 (PBI, Milan,Italy). Aliquots (1mL) were diluted 10-fold in sterileRinger’s solution and transferred onto solid or liquidgrowth media to quantify different microbial groups.Italian law (Presidenza della Repubblica, 2001) fixesthe maximum colony forming units (CFU) acceptedfor the total microbial count (TMC), staphylococci,clostridia and Salmonella, i.e. maximum values of 106,5� 103, 103 and absence, respectively. Out of these clas-ses, we determined the presence of Enterobacteriaceae,aerobic spore-forming bacteria, molds and yeasts.For the TMCs, plate count agar (PCA) medium

(Oxoid, Milan, Italy) was incubated at 32 �C for

48 h, while staphylococci were detected and countedon Baird Parker (BP) Agar supplemented with EggYolk Tellurite Emulsion (Oxoid, Milan, Italy) after48 h at 37 �C. Typical colonies were assayed forcoagulase activity using the Staphylase test (Oxoid,Milan, Italy).

Reinforced Clostridial Medium (Oxoid, Milan, Italy)was used for the sulfite-reducing clostridia; after heattreatment of the samples at 80 �C for 10min (to destroythe vegetative cells), the plates were incubated at 37 �Cfor 48 h in anaerobic conditions (avoiding contact withair). The count was carried out with the most probablenumber (MPN) method.

The Enterobacteriaceae were detected and counted onViolet Red Bile Glucose Agar (Oxoid, Milan, Italy) after48 h at 37 �C.

A presumptive detection test (Rapid Test, Oxoid,Milan, Italy) was used for motile Salmonella: the teststarted with pre-enrichment of 25 g of homogenizedsample in 225mL of Buffered Peptone Water (Merck,Darmstadt, Germany), followed by inoculation of theculture vessel containing a Salmonella elective mediumwith the pre-enriched culture. In case of a positive reac-tion, the tubes were tested further with the SalmonellaLatex test (Oxoid, Milan, Italy) and those giving positiveresults were reported as presumptively containingSalmonella.

Aerobic spore-forming bacteria were detected andcounted on Nutrient Agar (Oxoid, Milan, Italy) after48 h at 30 �C; all vegetative forms were previouslydestroyed by a pasteurization treatment (10min at 80�C). Molds and yeasts were detected on yeast peptonedextrose Agar (YPD) medium incubated for 4 days at 25�C.

The counts were expressed as CFU/g orMPN/g. Three replicates (one sample from three differ-ent trays) and five repetitions of each analysis werecarried out.

Moisture, Water Activity and pH Analysis

Moisture content (%), water activity (aw) and pHwere measured in the homogenized dough and in thefilling. Water activity was determined by an electronichygrometer (model Aw-Win, equipped with a Karl-Fastprobe, Rotronic, Switzerland), calibrated in the range0.1�0.95 with solutions of LiCl of known activity.Moisture content was determined in a vacuum ovenfor 12 h at 70 �C (AOAC, 1990), whereas pH was mea-sured with a pH-meter (mod Orion 710A, ThermoScientific, Waltham, USA) equipped with an Ag/AgCland POLISOLVE (reference) electrode for solids andsemi-solids (mod. Double Pore, Hamilton, Reno,USA). For each inspection time, three replicates (onepasta sample from three different trays) and five repeti-tions of each analysis were carried out.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0.02 0.09 0.13 5.00 6.50 8.00 9.50 11.00 12.50 14.00Time (min)

Tem

pera

ture

(°C

)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

FT

ref

Figure 1. Thermal profile and FTrefcalculation at the

coldest point of the fresh pasta samples. Data are themean of three runs. («) �C and (¨) F10

70.

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Analysis of Gas Composition

For every experimental batch, the gas compositions

(percentages of O2 and CO2) of four packages weredetermined using a gas analyzer (Mod. Combi Check9800-1, PBI-Dansensor, Denmark). Nitrogen was com-puted by subtracting the O2 and CO2 values from 100%.Gas analysis was performed immediately after packag-ing and at each inspection time.

Sensory Analysis

Sensory analysis was performed following the FIL-IDF 99C (1997) with some modifications and involvedasking 30 untrained consumers to evaluate the accep-tance of the samples according to a hedonic scale from1 to 7 (1, extremely unpleasant; 4, acceptable; 7, extre-

mely pleasant) for the attributes that best represent theproduct and are most susceptible to change during stor-age: color, olfactory intensity, acidity, aroma, off-flavor,dough friability and chewiness. An overall acceptabilityscore was also computed as the mean of the seven attrib-utes. All fresh pasta samples were judged immediatelyafter deep frying in olive oil in a deep fryer (mod.Friggimeglio, De Longhi, Italy) at 170 �C for 4min.The rate of olive oil to pasta samples was always kept

constant (15:1) and the olive oil was completely dis-carded after each inspection time.

Statistical Analysis

Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA) using Statistica 6.0 for Windows. To checkfor changes within each batch, the storage time wasselected as group variable, whereas to assess significanceamong the treatments the batch was chosen as groupvariable. Means, when required, were separated accord-ing to Duncan’s multiple range test, significance levelp� 0.05.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Gas and Microbiological Analysis

The O2 concentration inside MAP packages was closeto 0% at the start of the experiment and increased to amaximum of 0.35% (Table 1). These data confirm thatthe MAP technology maintains low O2 concentrations(around 0.0%) and limits any O2 increase during stor-age. The CO2 inside MAP trays showed a slight decreasenot exceeding 5% as absolute value, as observed in otherstudies (Lee et al., 2001; Zardetto, 2004). The CO2 gasconcentrations in MAP changed significantly after7 days of storage and then remained unchanged.

The microbiological analysis demonstrated the effi-cacy of the pasteurization treatment (Table 2). The fol-lowing maximum log reductions per gram immediatelyafter the pasteurization were recorded: 4 for TMCand Enterobacteriaceae and 1 for yeast and coagulase-negative staphylococci. Similar results have beenreported and are expected for an optimal thermal treat-ment of fresh filled pasta (Zardetto et al., 1999;Mondelli, 2006). It should be noted that the fillingshowed a higher contamination than the dough.Counts in the pasteurized samples complied fully withItalian law; thus, the samples can be considered of highmicrobiological quality. In particular, Salmonella wasabsent in 25 g of product and coagulase-positive

Table 2. Microbiological counts on dough and filling fresh pasta samples before BP and after (APa)pasteurization.

Treatment PartTMCa

(CFU/g)Enterobacteriaceae

(CFU/g)CNSb

(CFU/g)Molds

(CFU/g)Yeast

(CFU/g)Clostridiac

(MPN/g)Aerobic spore-

forming bacteria

BP Filling 3.5�106 2.2�105 4.5�103 <1�101 4� 102 9 6�101

APa Filling 3�102 <1�101 6�102 <1�101 <1� 101 <3 2�101

BP Dough 1.15�105 9.8�103 1�103 <1�101 6� 101 4 <1�101

APa Dough 4�101 <1�101 1�102 <1�101 <1� 101 4 <1�101

aTotal microbial count.bStaphylococci negative to the coagulase test.cMost probable number.

Table 1. Changes in gas concentrations inside trayscontaining fresh filled pasta during 42 days of storage.

Gas(%)

Experimentalbatches

Storage timea (days)

0 7 14 28 35 42

O2 AP 21.0 21.0 � � � �MAPb 0.1 a 0.2 a 0.3 a 0.3 a 0.3 a 0.35 a

CO2 AP 0.5 0.8 � � � �MAPb 50.2 a 46.4 b 46.0 b 45.8 b 45.5 b 45.2 b

N2 AP 78.5 78.2 � � � �MAPb 49.8 b 53.4 a 53.7 a 53.9 a 54.2 a 54.4 a

(�) Gas readings have not been carried out due to visible mold growth onpasta samples.aData followed by different letters within a row differ significantly according toDuncan’s multiple range test at p� 0.05.bAtmosphere, 50/50% N2�CO2.

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staphylococci were not found. As expected, clostridiaand spore-forming aerobic bacteria were unaffected bythe pasteurization treatment.Fresh pasta packaged with air showed mycelia

between 7 and 14 days of storage (more precisely after10 days), whereas MAP totally inhibited mold growthboth on plates and on samples (data not shown). Moldsare aerobic spoilage microorganisms that can withstandCO2 concentrations of 60% or higher inside MAP(Seiler, 1989; Ooraikul, 1991; Stollman et al., 1994).Previous studies showed that molds cannot grow whenthe CO2 concentration is very high, even if the residualoxygen is equal to or higher than 1%; however, whenCO2 levels decrease, even low concentrations of oxygenmay result in mold development (Bogadtke, 1979;Abellana et al., 2000). It has been reported, in fact,that the minimum oxygen concentration in the head-space for growth of Penicillium spp. is 0.4 when CO2 isat least 60%. Previous studies of fresh pasta productsdemonstrated the inhibition of mold growth for up to 60days when the CO2 concentration in the headspace washigher than 30% (Castelvetri, 1991; Giavedoni et al.,1994; Zardetto, 2005). Zardetto (2004) showed a signif-icant increase in the lag phase of Penicillium aurantio-griseum, a typical contaminant of cereal products, whenthe pasta samples were packaged with a N2/CO2 ratio of70/30 and the O2 content was 1%. According to theabove-cited papers, it is possible that the residual

oxygen content combined with 50% CO2 does notallow mold growth after 42 days of lag phase.

MAP also inhibited growth of the other microbialgroups. The only exception was the aerobic spore-forming bacteria, which showed a very slight increasebut remained below the legal tolerances (data notshown). Other studies showed the combined beneficialeffects of MAP and low storage temperature in contrast-ing the growth of pathogenic microorganisms on freshpasta (Giavedoni et al., 1994; Cata et al., 1996; Uboldiet al., 1996).

Water Activity, Moisture Content and pH

The trends of these parameters are given in Table 3.The water activity of fresh pasta samples was high andequivalent to the threshold of the Italian tolerances; nosignificant differences were found between the dough andthe filling. Changes over storage time were not signifi-cant. On the other hand, the moisture content of thefresh MAP pasteurized pasta was 30.2% for the doughand 46.5% for the filling. The fact that the dough, withlower moisture content, had the same aw value as thefilling can be attributed to the different compositions ofthe rawmaterials: in fact, the dough probably has a lowercapacity to bind water than the filling. The moisture con-tent decreased significantly in the filling during storage,whereas the dough water content varied but had notchanged at the end of the shelf life. This may have beendue to water moving from the moister filling to the drierdough, which in turn released water into the surroundingatmosphere, resulting in condensation within the pack-age. The filling did not show significant variations in pH,whereas the dough pH significantly decreased in MAP,perhaps due to the previously reported absorption ofcarbon dioxide. Indeed, carbon dioxide is highly solublein foods rich in water and fats and the solubility increaseswith decreasing storage temperature (Lupatini, 2002).Air-packaged pasta samples did not show any significantchanges in the above-mentioned parameters.

Sensory Analysis

The panel gave an overall acceptability score of 5.59to the freshly prepared samples. A 0.2�0.3 reduction inthe overall acceptability score was recorded for the APand MAP samples after 7 days of storage, with no sig-nificant difference between them (Figure 2). The color,dough friability and chewiness changed significantlyduring the storage of MAP samples, whereas the olfac-tory intensity, acidity, aroma and off-flavor did notchange (Table 4). In particular, the color scoreincreased, whereas the dough friability and chewinessscores decreased, although they were always higherthan 5. However, the overall acceptability was alwaysabove the threshold throughout the storage period andno significant differences were found (Figure 2).

Table 3. Evolution of chemical�physical parametersduring storage in fresh pasta samples packaged in air

(AP) or on modified atmosphere (MAP).

Parameter

Storagetime

(days)

Packaginga

AP MAP

Filling Dough Filling Dough

pH 0 5.68 a 6.07 a 5.68 a 6.07 a7 6.01 a 5.69 a 5.68 a 5.92 b

14 � � 5.60 a 5.93 b28 � � 5.56 a 5.85 c35 � � 5.61 a 5.86 c42 � � 5.60 a 5.76 d

aw 0 0.970 a 0.970 a 0.970 a 0.970 a7 0.970 a 0.971 a 0.968 a 0.970 a

14 � � 0.966 a 0.967 a28 � � 0.965 a 0.962 a35 � � 0.970 a 0.963 a42 � � 0.966 a 0.966 a

Moisture (%) 0 53.5 a 29.2 a 46.5 a 30.2 b7 54.4 a 28.7 a 44.7 b 28.4 d

14 � � 41.5 de 31.9 a28 � � 43.0 cd 27.3 e35 � � 40.3 e 29.7 c42 � � 41.2 de 29.9 bc

aData followed by different letters for each parameter and within each columndiffer significantly according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p< 0.05.(�) Determinations have not been carried out due to visible mold growth onpasta samples.

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CONCLUSION

Mold growth is a major problem in the shelf life offresh filled pasta. A balanced use of hurdles (pH, aw andstorage temperature) should be considered to avoid therisk of pathogen growth. Our study showed that MAPcan extend the shelf life of fresh cheese filled pasta up tofive times with respect to conventional AP. The highCO2 content (50%) and the low residual oxygen(0.35%) inside the packages matched the need toassure good microbiological quality, while avoidingsome frequent problems of high CO2 concentrations,such as package collapse due to CO2 absorption orstrong acidification of the food. At the end of the42-day storage, the microbiological counts compliedfully with Italian law and the sensory analysis confirmedthe good quality of the product. Therefore, MAP waseffective in extending the shelf life of fresh pasta to befried, providing an effective control of mold and patho-gen growth.

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Table 4. Changes of sensory parameters during storage in fresh pasta samples packaged in air (AP) or onmodified atmosphere (MAP).

Packaging APa MAPa

Storage time (days) 0 7 0 7 14 28 35 42

Color 4.70 b 5.50 ax 4.70 c 5.47 b 5.77 ab 6.00 a 5.73 ab 5.46 bOlfactive intensity 5.67 a 5.37 a 5.67 a 5.13 a 5.63 a 5.57 a 5.37 a 5.36 aAcidity 5.80 a 5.40 a 5.80 a 5.43 a 5.47 a 5.40 a 5.13 a 5.29 aAroma 5.33 a 5.00 a 5.33 a 5.73 a 5.17 a 5.13 a 4.77 a 5.04 aOff-flavor 5.90 a 5.23 a 5.90 a 5.27 a 6.07 a 5.57 a 5.40 a 5.46 aDough friability 5.83 a 5.57 a 5.83 a 5.47 ab 5.50 ab 5.53 ab 5.07 b 5.25 bDough chewiness 5.63 a 5.63 a 5.63 a 5.53 ab 5.50 ab 5.40 ab 5.01 b 5.32 b

aData followed by different letters for each batch and for each parameter differ significantly according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p<0.05.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 7 14 27 34 42

Storage time (days)

Ove

rall

acce

ptab

ility

(sc

ore)

Figure 2. Change of overall acceptability scoresduring storage in fresh pasta samples packaged inair («) or in a modified atmosphere (#). The accep-tance of the samples was scored according to a hedo-nic scale from 1 to 7 (1, extremely unpleasant; 4,acceptable; 7, extremely pleasant).

28 A.M. SANGUINETTI ET AL.

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