Browsing by Subject "fluorescent light"

The literature review of this thesis deals with light, conventional light sources and the effects of light on the quality of foods. Impacts of light on the quality of frozen foods were also discussed. Effects of fluorescent light on frozen food have been previously reported in the literature, but effects of LED light have not. The literature review also deals with the quality changes of foods caused by freezing and frozen storage. The significance of package during frozen storage was reviewed. The aim of the experimental study was to investigate whether there are differences between the effects on frozen food when exposed to fluorescent or LED light. Frozen strawberries, shrimps, lamb loins and ice cream were exposed to fluorescent and LED light for 4 weeks. The samples were packed in transparent LDPE pouches except the lamb loins, which were vacuum-packed in transparent PA/PE film. References were packed in aluminium foil. Temperature of the samples was monitored by the sensors attached to the surfaces of the packages. The colour of the samples was measured every week using a spectrophotometer. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of the shrimps and lamb loins were analysed after 0, 2 and 4 weeks of exposure. The odour of shrimps was evaluated with sensory evaluation using a multiple comparison test. Sensory evaluations of ice cream was conducted by trained panelists using a multiple comparison test. All the sensory evaluations were conducted after 2 and 4 weeks of exposure. In addition, ice cream was exposed to light under a yellow plastic film to find out the effects of riboflavin, which is known to operate as a sensitiser. After 4 weeks of exposure to the fluorescent light the total colour difference of the samples was higher than that of the products exposed to the LED light. Differences were pronounced especially in ice cream exposed to light under transparent film. The smell and taste of ice cream were affected when exposed to light under transparent or yellow plastic films. There were no statistically significant differences in the taste of ice cream when exposed to fluorescent or LED light for 4 weeks, but the smell of ice cream appeared to be more divergent from the reference when exposed to LED light under transparent film for 4 weeks than the smell of ice cream exposed to fluorescent light for 4 weeks. On the basis of this study, fluorescent light affected the colour of the frozen food more than LED light. Light sources did not differ from each other, when the results of the sensory evaluation of shrimps were considered. Because TBA values of lamb loins and shrimps also increased in reference samples, the effects of light could not be separated. Sensory properties of ice cream were affected by light exposures, but on the basis of sensory evaluation it is not possible to state which light source was more detrimental to the quality of ice cream.