AVALIAÇÃO DE DIFERENTES TIPOS DE EMBALAGENS NO ARMAZENAMENTO DE DOCE DE LEITE EM TABLETES

Abstract

The Dulce de leche has economic and cultural importance in Latin America. However, trade barriers due to the lack of standardization and product stability throughout the storage are factors that compromise the export of this dairy product. In this way, the objective of this work was to investigate the stability of dulce de leche in tablets (DLT) during the shelf life using different packages. The sweets were elaborated in agribusiness, by cooking the ingredients in open pan under constant agitation up to 75 °Brix. DLT tablets were selected and packaged in three types of packaging, styrofoam trays with PVC (PVC), Polypropylene (PP) and Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) bags. The physical-chemical stability (moisture, ashes, proteins and lipids), microbiological (fungi and yeasts, Staphylococcus spp, Salmonella sp and thermotolerant coliforms), texture profile (hardness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, elasticity, fracturability and chewability) and color L*, a*, b*, C* and hue angle) of DLT was monitored at 0, 45, 90, 135 and 180 days, and the yield calculated. Regarding the physical-chemical characteristics, the elaborated sweets met the requirements established by the current legislation, which were preserved up to 180 days. The PVC packaging presented sweets with lower humidity (p <0.05) and greater water loss (64.14%). There was no difference (p <0.05) in lipid and ash contents between treatments, while PVC had the highest protein mean values. The PVC packaging influenced the increase in hardness and reduction of fracture, with loss of softness and appearance of brittle texture. In contrast, LDPE was efficient to keep the texture parameters practically unchanged for six months. Lighter and yellower candies were obtained when stored in PVC, whereas LDPE presented darker and less intense b* tablets. During the storage period, the sweets showed absence of contaminating microorganisms up to 180 days. The fungi and yeast counts were above the allowable value during the useful life studied for all the treatments. The information in the present study contributed to the understanding of the behavior of dulce de leche characteristics in tablets during storage.