Quantification of some Quality Changes in Dried Okra Stored in Sealed Polythene and Traditional Storage Systems.

Abstract

Studies were conducted to quantify the changes in quality attributes of dried okra during storage using high density polythene film (HDPE) and open storage systems (traditional method of storage). 300g of the dried okra fruits were packaged in six high density polythene films (HDPE) while similar quantity was placed in open bowls as practiced by the rural processors. Periodic assessment of some quality parameters such as microbial loads, moisture content, colour, vitamins A and C and phosphorus were carried out for a period of three months to ascertain how these two storage systems influence the changes in these quality attributes. The results showed that the fungal counts of the dried samples prior to storage were 3.3×103cfu/g. After three months of storage, the counts were 1.7×103cfu/g and 5.7×103cfu/g for the samples stored in HDPE and open systems respectively. These were significantly different at 5% level of confidence. Vitamin A content of the samples changed from the initial value 28.6µg prior to storage to 16.4µg and 19.4µg after three months of storage in open and HDPE systems respectively. Similarly, vitamin C content changed from 4.97mg/100g prior to storage to 3.22mg/100g and 3.57mg/100g in the samples stored in open and HDPE systems respectively after three months. The moisture content of the dried sample prior to storage was 3.7%. After three months of storage, the values were 6.20 and 5.42% respectively for the samples stored in HDPE and open systems and these were not significant at 5% level of confidence. The samples stored in the HDPE gave better results compared to the traditional method of storage in Nigeria as far as these quality parameters assessed are concerned.