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Infrared radiation and its effects on the contamination level and quality of dried barberry
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Mahdiye Vafadarghasemi   , Mahdi Kashaninejad * , Morteza Khomeiri , Mahdiyeh Hasani |
| Department of Materials Engineering and Food Industry Design, Faculty of Food Industry, Golestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran |
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Abstract: |
| Microbial load and the growth of microorganisms are among the most critical factors affecting the quality of barberries. Due to the importance of barberries as a food seasoning, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of infrared irradiation on reducing the number of Penicillium oxalicum spores in dried barberries and its qualitative characteristics. Penicillium oxalicum spores were used as an indicator of dried barberry contamination to evaluate the effect of infrared irradiation. penicillium oxalicum was inoculated into dried barberry samples. The samples were then treated with three infrared lamps at three power levels (150, 250, and 375 watts) for three durations (60, 100, and 120 seconds) at two different thicknesses (1 and 1.5 cm) and two water activities (0.8 and 0.6). Sensory evaluation of the samples was also performed by assessors. In addition to the sensory evaluation and measurement of Penicillium oxalicum levels, moisture content and color factors (L*, a*, b* and ΔE) were also measured. Results showed that infrared lamp irradiation of barberry had a significant effect on reducing Penicillium oxalicum to 2.9 CFU/g across all treatments, with the greatest decrease in moisture content (3.4%) observed in the sample treated with the 375-watt lamp at 120 seconds and a thickness of 1 centimeter. Additionally, the darkening of the barberry samples increased with rising lamp power, while moisture content and water activity decreased, along with a reduction in sample depth. |
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| Keywords: deconfamination, sensory evaluation, infrared radiation, Penicillium oxalicum, barberry. |
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Type of Study: Research |
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