Use of biopolymer-based coating material for enhancing the shelf life of sugarcane jaggery
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Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
DRPCAU, PUSA
Abstract
India is the world‟s second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil which is
used for producing jaggery, but due to its hygroscopic nature, the storage of jaggery
becomes one of the major problems in India. The present study was carried out to use
biopolymer material coating to enhance shelf life of jaggery. The coating solution was
prepared using zein (0.1-8%) as base material with polyethylene glycol (0.1-5%) as
plasticizer and sodium tripolyphosphate (0.1-1%) as crosslinker. RSM based three
factor three level Box-Behnken experimental design was used to optimize the
response variables in terms of Moisture absorption, Puncture strength, Opacity, Total
colour difference, Whiteness index and Antimicrobial activity. The optimum solution
was obtained at 4.968% zein, 0.1% PEG and 0.655% STPP. Furthermore, storage
study of coated and uncoated jaggery was performed for a period of 150 days. The
moisture content, water activity, reducing sugar, total colour difference and total plate
count increased throughout the storage period in both the jaggery samples (coated and
uncoated) but the increment was more significant in uncoated jaggery compared to
coated jaggery. Hardness reduced during the storage period with the greater reduction
in uncoated jaggery sample compared to coated one. The sensory results of coated and
uncoated jaggery were insignificantly different at the start of storage, showing no
masking effect of coating on sensorial attributes. The overall study showed better
stability of jaggery with biopolymer coating, which gives a scope of
commercialization of the technology.