THE CHANGES OF TOTAL CAROTENOID CONTENT OF GAC (MOMORDICA COCHINCHINENSIS SPRENG) POWDER PRODUCT IN ACCELERATED TEMPERATURE TO THE APPROPRIATE TEMPERATURE AND SHELF-LIFE OF PRODUCT STORAGE (Published)
Gac fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) is indigenous to Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia. Its seed pulp contains high concentrations of carotenoids, especially the pro-vitamin A, beta-carotene. Due to regulatory issues and consumer demands, industrialized food products need to clearly state their shelf-lives, that is the time within their characteristics are kept at acceptable levels, in their packages. Nowadays consumers demand products with superior appearance, texture, taste and flavor whilst keeping their nutritional value. Thus, food companies need to carry out kinetic studies whenever a new or modified product is to be launched onto the market. The purpose of this study was to develop a method to investigate the changes of total carotenoids content of Gac powder product in accelerated temperature to find out the appropriate temperature and shelf-life of product storage. The result shows that total carotenoid content maintains at 70% in comparing with the beginning content in three months at 100C or five months at 50C in condition of absent oxygen and light
Keywords: Accelerated Temperature, Carotene, Momordica Cochinchinensis Spreng, Shelf-Life