THE EFFECT OF PACKAGING MATERIALS ON THE QUALITY OF DRIED CANDIED BLACK CURRANTS

Scientifically, blackcurrants have long been regarded as having considerable health benefits, due to their high levels of vitamin C and bioflavonoids, including anthocyanins and phenolic acids. The increasing interest in functional foods has led processors to find new resources to meet this demand, and dried candied black currant can be one processing product offered to consumers as a healthy snack. To determine the shelf life it is necessary to choose appropriate packaging materials and evaluate their influence on the quality of product during the storage time. The results of the research showed that the total amount of bacteria and yeast are significantly affected by the material used for packaging. The content of vitamin C throughout the storage period of dried candied black currants in PP bags and in PLA pouches decreased on average by 28.6% and by 32.3%, respectively. The changes in total phenolic content were insignificant (3.7-4.3%) and substantial difference between packaging materials was not observed. Due to the relevant content of polyphenols including anthocyanins, dried candied black currants are characterized by high antiradical activity (46.6 mmol g^-1 Trolox by DPPH and 40.7 mmol g^-1 Trolox by ABTS). The antiradical activity in the dried candied black currants during the storage time of six month decreased on average by 30%.