EFECTO DE LA RADIACIÓN GAMMA SOBRE LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS FÍSICO - QUÍMICAS, SENSORIALES Y MICROBIOLÓGICAS EN PÁPRIKA EN POLVO (Capsicum annuum L.)

Abstract

Peru is the world's leading exporter of paprika, spice susceptible to microbial contamination. The objective was to evaluate the physico-chemical and sensory paprika powder irradiated at different doses of gamma radiation, with the purpose of determining the lowest dose that reduces the microbial population to the specifications. 500 g samples were irradiated in the team Gammacell 220 (0, 2, 4 and 7 kGy). The initial dose rate was 5.19 kGy / h. The samples were analized: Physical and chemical (moisture, total ash, HCl-insoluble ash, ether extract, total starch, crude fiber, iodine value and ASTA color). Sensory evaluation (Test descriptive). Microbiological analysis (aerobic mesophiles, Salmonella / Shigella, total coliforms, Eschericha coli, Clostridium sulfite reducer, fungi and yeasts). The methods were those recommended by the 6th edition FDA, AOAC (1984) and NTP. At different doses tested, there were no differences in the physical-chemical analysis and sensory. The minimum dose of 7 kGy was selected to reduce the population of mesophilic aerobic microorganisms in 5 log cycles of 3.7 x 106 CFU/g to 2.5 x 10 CFU / g. 4 kGy dose was suficinte to reduce the population of fungi in 3 log cycles of 5,0x103 to <10 CFU /g. according to the required specifications.