Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Silica Gel Desiccant in Improving the Keeping Quality of Rice Crackers

Abstract

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Rice cracker is a hygroscopic product, produced from rice flour. Therefore, desiccants are used in the product to provide a moisture barrier property. The effectiveness of silica gel desiccant in improving the keeping quality of rice crackers is characterized in the present study based on the evaluation of physiochemical and microbiological quality of the rice crackers throughout its 6 months’ shelf life. Four types of rice cracker samples were prepared by inserting 5g, 2.5g, 1g and no silica gel in sachets to each 100g rice cracker packet. The samples were packed in double laminated wrapper and stored under ambient conditions. The samples were subjected to determine the changes occur in physical, chemical and microbiological properties throughout 6 months of shelf life. Water vapor transmission ratio (WVTR) of the packing material and time taken by silica gel to become saturated state were measured. Variation of hardness, moisture content, pH, free fatty acid content (FFA), total plate count (TPC) of rice crackers were tested against period of storage. Results were analyzed using Minitab 17 statistical software. Results revealed that rice crackers packed with 5g silica gel in sachet was able to maintain a lower moisture content, FFA value and hardness with the time than the other three samples. Thus, it was concluded that 5g silica gel was the best amount of desiccant to protect the quality of 100g rice crackers for a period of 6 months’ shelf life.