Effect of ambient storage on the quality characteristics of aerobically packaged fish curls incorporated with different flours

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of ambient storage on the quality attributes of aerobically packaged fish curls incorporated with optimum levels of different flours. The curls were developed by extrusion technology using fish meat (Catla catla). The fish curls containing optimum levels of different flours viz. 20 percent corn flour, 10 percent black gram flour and 10 percent peanut flour were compared with the control snacks containing 30 percent rice flour and assessed for storage quality and shelf life at ambient temperature. The curls were aerobically packaged in LDPE (low density polyethylene) pouches and evaluated for various physicochemical, microbiological and sensory parameters. Mean values of pH of all the curls showed significantly (p < 0.05) decreasing trend with increasing days of storage (6.34 ± 0.01 on day 0 and 5.90 ± 0.005 on day 28 for control samples, 6.41 ± 0.009 on day 0 and 6.11 ± 0.02 on day 28 for corn flour incorporated samples, 6.36 ± 0.01 on day 0 and 6.14 ± 0.01 on day 28 for black gram flour incorporated samples, 6.57 ± 0.007 on day 0 and 6.34 ± 0.01 on day 28 for peanut flour incorporated samples). TBARS (mg malonaldehyde/kg), total plate count (log cfu/g) and yeast and mould count (log cfu/g) for the control as well as treatment samples showed significantly (p < 0.05) increasing trend with storage. Coliform counts (log cfu/g) were not detected until day 28 in all the products. The mean scores of sensory parameters i.e. appearance and colour, flavor, crispiness, texture and overall acceptability for control as well as treatment samples showed significantly (p < 0.05) decreasing trend with storage period. The decrease was significantly (p < 0.05) highest on 21(st) and 28(th) day of storage. The mean values for all the quality and storage parameters up to the day 21 of the storage were within the acceptable limits. Thus, based on various physicochemical and sensory parameters, the curls incorporated with optimum level of different flours were acceptable up to 21 days of ambient storage within the LDPE pouches.