Effect of modified atmosphere packaging on bread staling

Though modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is known to extend microbial shelf life of bread but its effect on staleness of bread is not properly recognized. In this work, the application of MAP for hamburger bread buns at room temperature was studied and the effects of MAP on the bread staling were investigated. Four atmospheres including 20%, 40% and 80% of carbon dioxide balanced with N2 as filler and less than 2% O2 and a normal air as control were used. The bread samples were packed in pouches made from impermeable polymeric film of polyethylene-polyamide-polyethylene (PE-PA-PE) with total thickness of 80 μm and stored at room temperature for 12 days. Staleness and headspace composition of bread samples were analyzed. Results obtained here confirm that MAP of bread had no significant effect on bread staleness. However, any signs of molding did not appear in the bread samples except control ones. The variations in headspace composition of samples explained that bread crust adsorbs CO2

Keywords:

Bread , Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) , Staleness , Shelf life