THE EFFECT OF ORGANIC ACID PRETREATMENT AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE ON SHELF LIFE OF DRY COLESLAW MIX

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of soaking in ascorbic acid and citric acid solution and modified atmosphere packaging on the quality of a coleslaw mix stored for 12 days at 4C. Pretreatment caused a reduction by approximate to 2 logarithmic cycles for counts of psychrophilic bacteria from the genus Pseudomonas, and mesophilic yeasts, as well as a significant decrease in the counts of mesophilic bacteria and coliform bacteria. Packaging of tested samples in modified atmosphere with high contents of oxygen (70 or 50%) and carbon dioxide (30%) caused an inhibition of growth for mesophilic, psychrophilic, lactic acid and coliform bacteria during storage. Application of atmosphere with increased contents of CO2 (25 or 30%) resulted in the inhibition of growth of bacteria from the genus Pseudomonas, while in the case of elevated (70%) or reduced contents of oxygen (5%) a slower growth of yeasts was observed.