Imagens digitais no estudo do envelhecimento do queijo minas frescal: um estudo comparativo sobre diferentes embalagens

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the influence of Low Density Polyethylene plastic bags (LDPE) and vacuum packaging on the color, physicochemical and microbiological quality of Minas fresh cheese. 10 cheeses from 5 artisan producers from the city of Belo Horizonte were acquired two days after fabrication. The cheeses were divided into two groups, each one with 15 units (three pieces of five chesses), and stored in a refrigerator at 6 ° C until the day of analysis. The analysis of pH, humidity content, fat content, microbiological and the study of color were made on days 0, 10 and 20, both in the inner and the outer part of the product. The use of chemometric tools, such as Principal Component Image Analysis (Image PCA), was able to detect the color changes of the samples during the observation period and correlate them with the two types of packaging and the variations on the physical chemical parameters. The results showed that the characteristics of the packages related to gases and water vapor permeability have provided physical, chemical and microbiological changes in the samples, resulting in different shades of yellow, perfectly highlighted by the PCA. Microbiological contamination of the samples stressed the importance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) on the quality of Minas fresh cheese.