Effects of edible film coatings on shelf-life of mustafakemalpasa sweet, a cheese based dessert.

It was aimed to investigate the shelf-life of single baked (one stage heating at 280-300 °C) mustafakemalpasa (MKP) cheese sweets coated with edible films such as κ-carrageenan, chitosan, corn zein and whey protein concentrate (WPC). The sweets prepared were coated, packed in polystyrene bags and stored at room temperature (20 ± 1 °C). The shelf-life of sweet samples was determined by microbiological analyses, aw, titratable acidity, pH and sensory analysis. The microorganisms exhibited growth dependent upon the water activity levels during storage. The most significant growth was seen in moulds and yeasts. The minimum aw values for the growth of mould and yeasts were 0.85. Coating with chitosan and κ-carrageenan showed no significant effect on shelf-life of MKP sweets. The shelf-life of these samples was limited by 3 days same as control (non-coated) and deterioration occurred when the aw value reached 0.90. The coatings with WPC and corn zein prolonged the shelf-life of sweets from 3 to 10 days.