Vol. 8, Issue 9, Part N (2024)

Wood apple (Limonia acidissima), is mainly found in India and Sri Lanka. In India, wood apple trees are found in many states including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and West Bengal. Processing and packaging are vital stages in the food industry, with packaging being the final step that requires careful attention to quality raw materials. Packaging of value added food product is crucial for maintaining food quality during storage, transportation, and distribution. Food packaging protects against damage, attracts consumers, provides information, and employs technologies to prevent spoilage and maintain quality standards.

An experiment was carried out to enhance the shelf life of wood apple spicy balls by optimizing suitable packaging material at various laboratories in Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. Three types of packaging material i.e., glass jar, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and stand-up pouch were used to store the spicy balls for 90 days. Various quality parameters like acidity, ascorbic acid, pH, water activity, colour, total soluble solids (TSS) and sensory evaluation were observed throughout the storage period at an interval period of 15 days. The sample was kept in refrigerated condition (10 °C). Wood apple spicy balls when evaluated with sensory parameters i.e. colour, flavour, taste, texture and overall acceptability, the values determined were 8.2, 8.1, 8.3, 8.2, 8.4 respectively. Glass jar gave best results in almost all quality parameters which were evaluated. For acidity, the CD (α=5%) came out to be 0.468. The CD (α=5%) value for ascorbic acid was 0.025. The values came out to be significant for ascorbic acid. The CD at 5% level of significance for pH was 0.018 and was found significant. The value of CD (α=5%) for water activity parameter was 0.017 and the values for water activity was significant. The packaging material glass jar showed best results when compared with glass bottle and spout stand up pouch. Thus, from the study it is concluded that, wood apple spicy balls when stored in glass jars could be consumed for 3 months.