The Effect of Packaging Material on the Quality Attributes of stored Fried Maize Chips

The fried maize based chips reconstituted into thick paste, spiced, manually moulded into stick and deep fried in hot vegetable oil at about 1700 c for 5 minutes were analysed. The chips were then stored in four different packaging materials at the temperature of 250C for the period of four months.The proximate, sensory evaluation and microbial load of an indigenous snack from fried maize were investigated. The sensory analysis revealed that that samples stored in the glass bottles was rated best by the panellist in the sensory attributes evaluated. The microbial analysis showed that the mean total viable count (TVC) log10 values for samples of the finished products increased with increased storage period with their values ranging from 0 to 15.0 x102 cfu/g. Mean fungi count log10 was 0.00 to 1.40 x102 while mean coliform count 0 to 1.00 x 102 log10 cfu/g was detected in the samples during storage. The moisture content of the samples ranged from 3.40 to 6.90%; fat content was 19.05 to 32.40%; fiber content was 1.74 to 2.75% while protein ranged from 5.85 to 9.20%. The ash and carbohydrate contents ranged from 1.80 to 2.30% and 50.60 to 63.40% respectively. Based on the specifications by International Commission for Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICMSF), the TVC counts of the finished products remained at low levels. However, there were observable presence of coliforms in samples stored in transparent cellophane, aluminums foil and plastic bottles at the end of the storage period.

Keywords: Kokoro, physicochemical, microbial, sensory, properties.