Caracterização de filmes à base de alginato de sódio e cloreto de cálcio e sua utilização na composição de coberturas comestíveis de queijo coalho

Abstract

The use of biodegradable plastics for the preparation of food packaging has become a trend that is increasingly addressed in the scientific community, in view of the various environmental benefits associated with its use. Thus, the use of edible sodium alginate coatings in rennet cheese appears as a promising alternative in the preservation of this product, since the lack of standardization of good manufacturing practices along with the particularities of the product makes it an extremely perishable food. The main methods of preserving rennet cheese are associated with the use of non-biodegradable synthetic polymers, resulting in serious environmental problems. In order to increase the shelf life of rennet cheese using environmentally friendly packaging, the objective is to evaluate the influence of edible films and edible toppings based on sodium alginate on the conservation and shelf life of this product. The films were elaborated and characterized, with subsequent application in the form of edible cover to rennet cheese, evaluating the treatments (CO, 3AS, 3AC, 4AS, 4AC) at intervals of three to nine days of analysis. Physical-chemical and microbiological evaluations were carried out. The experimental design was completely randomized with five replications and the microbiological and physical-chemical evaluations were analyzed using the analysis of variance test (ANOVA) and the Tukey test at the level of 5% of significance. With the edible characterization tests, it was observed that the results showed significant similarity in relation to the control in terms of luminosity and statistically different for the parameters of thickness, water vapor permeability (PVA), chromaticity a *, chromaticity b * and opacity. Edible toppings were efficient in conserving the mass loss of rennet cheese after nine days of cold storage. No significant differences were observed for the analysis of pH, acidity, chromaticity a * and chromaticity b *. The brightness showed a significant difference for the 3AC and 4AC coatings, reducing the incidence of light in the cheeses. Molds and yeasts and aerobic mesophilic bacteria were not affected by the application of edible coatings. Edible toppings of sodium alginate have shown promise in maintaining the qualitative standards of rennet cheese during nine days of cold storage