Influence of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) on textural properties of Mozzarella cheese during refrigeration storage

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the textural quality of mozzarella cheese using MAP. 300 g of mozzarella cheese was placed in high barrier bags under five different atmospheres <italic>viz</italic>., air (atm 1), vacuum (atm 2), 100 % CO₂ (atm 3), 100 % (atm 4) and a mixture of 50% N₂ and 50% CO₂ (atm 5). Periodically, the product was evaluated for its textural quality N₂ with respect to its hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness and springiness. Among the different modified atmospheres studied, atm 3 showed minimum changes on the textural quality in MAP Mozzarella cheese during storage, thus proving to be the best, followed by the samples packed in atm 5, atm 4, atm 2 and atm 1 respectively, in descending order. The five types of atmospheres and the intervals of storage period, each individually, influenced the textural quality of Mozzarella cheese.