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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Phoenix dactylifera L., commonly known as the date palm is a primeval plant and has been cultivated for its edible fruit in the desert oasis of the Arab world for centuries. This fruit is a rich source of carbohydrates, dietary fibers, certain essential vitamins and minerals. In addition to its dietary use the dates are of medicinal use and are used to treat a variety of ailments in the various traditional systems of medicine. The study was planned with the objectives to develop and assess the shelf life of value added products of dried dates. The dates products that is ready to cook (instant cake premix) and ready to eat (dates churan, dates cookies, and dates chakli) were developed and subjected to sensory evaluation. The shelf life of the standardized products was assessed based on sensory qualities (appearance, colour, taste, flavour, texture and overall acceptability) using nine point Hedonic scale, moisture content and microbial growth (yeast and mould count) for the period of 3 months. The results revealed that there was no significant difference was found in sensory characteristics and microbial load (yeast and mould count) in developed dates products (dates churan, dates cookies and instant cake premix) during storage period indicating that they were safe for consumption up to 3 months but in dates chakli there were significant changes in the overall acceptability (6.93 ± 1.36) after 3 months and significant microbial changes (0.54 ± 0.13) were also seen signifying that it was not safe for consumption at the 3 month of storage. Significant increase in the moisture content of dates products at second (1.05 ± 0.06, 1.33 ± 0.05, 2.15 ± 0.13 and 2.15 ± 0.02) and third (2.05 ± 0.05, 2.56 ± 0.02, 4.12 ± 0.09 and 4.43 ± 0.04) month of storage period was also seen. Hence it can be said that the developed products of dates except chakli were safe for consumption even after three months of storage stating that they have a long shelf life. The alterations in sensory characteristics of chakli may be attributed to the fact that might have developed rancidity.