Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of vanilla ice cream treated by gamma irradiation

This study evaluated the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of vanilla ice cream treated with gamma irradiation. The general composition of the vanilla ice cream used for the study was 45.4-53.3% moisture, 5.5-5.9% fat and 3.9-4.1% protein, and these values did not change following gamma irradiation. The Hunter L, a and b values were slightly decreased following gamma irradiation. The fatty acid composition of the ice cream included caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid, and there was no detectable change following irradiation. There was no significant difference in TBARS (2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) values between non-irradiated and irradiated samples at a dose of 3 kGy or less (p<0.05). Sensory evaluation indicated that gamma-irradiated vanilla ice cream did not show any difference in color relative to non-irradiated ice cream. However, gamma irradiation did affect the flavor, taste and overall acceptability of ice cream at doses above 3 kGy. These results indicate that gamma irradiation at 3 kGy is an effective treatment for sustaining the physicochemical characteristics of vanilla ice cream with minimal changes in sensory characteristics, though further studies should be carried out to reduce the deterioration of sensory qualities induced by gamma irradiation.