QUALITY OF GUAVA LEATHER AS INFLUENCED BY STORAGE PERIOD AND PACKING MATERIALS

An investigation was carried out to assess the nutritive and organoleptic characteristics of guava leather packed in vegetable parchment paper, polyethylene sheet and aluminum foil stored at refrigerated temperature (6 + 1 ºC) for 240 days. Allahabad Safeda variety was used for guava leather preparation. Physicochemical, microbiological characteristics and sensory evaluation of packed guava leather were done at 30 days intervals till 240 days. A gradual increase in total soluble solids (TSS), acidity and total sugar was observed during storage whereas moisture, brix/acid ratio, pH and ascorbic acid were decreased. The changes were more pronounced in samples packed in polyethylene sheet and least in aluminum foil. No detectable yeast and mold and negligible total viable count were observed in all packed leather samples during 240 days storage period. Sensory evaluation results revealed that aluminum foil packed samples were ranked highest and more acceptable than others. However, guava leather packed in all packing materials remained organoleptically acceptable after 240 days storage.