QUALITY OF ‘MANTI’ (MEAT-FILLED PASTA PRODUCT) AS AFFECTED BY MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING DURING REFRIGERATED STORAGE

The fresh ‘manti’ pieces were blanched in boiling water for 5 min and dehydrated in an oven at 125 °C to adjust water activity to 0.91. The samples were packaged under different atmospheres (C: air as control, M1: 70% CO 2 +30% N 2 +0% O 2 , M2: 70% CO 2 +25% N 2 +5% O 2 , M3: 100% N 2 ). Packages have been stored in a refrigerator at +4 ± 1 °C for 35 days during which headspace gas composition, total aerobic meshophilic bacteria (TAMB), total yeast-mold, moisture, pH, lipid oxidation and sensory analyses were carried out. Yeast-mold and TAMB counts were 1.40 log cfu/g and 4.62 log cfu/g in samples packaged in air after 35 days, respectively. Yeast-mold and TAMB counts were below 2 log cfu/g in M1, M2 and M3 during 35 days. The 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values of the samples in all modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) were lower than the samples in the control packages after 35 days. Sensory qualities of uncooked and cooked samples were significantly higher in M1 and M2 than C and M3 during 35-day storage.  Overall, microbiological, chemical and sensory quality of the samples packaged with M1 and M2 were maintained successfully during 35-day storage.