Shelf-life prediction and storage characteristics of mushroomy gelatinous candy sterilized by ⁶⁰Co-γirradiation

In order to prolong the shelf life of the preservative free mushroomy gelatinous candies,black fungus-red jujube(BR)and Pleurotus eryngii-orange(PO),and clarify the quality change rule during the storage period,the two kinds of mushroomy gelatinous candies were sterilized by ⁶⁰Co-γ ray irradiation at the dose of 2 kGy. And then the shelf life was predicted using accelerated shelf-life testing(ASLT).Based on the predicted shelf life,the monitoring duration was determined using 0.8 as safety factor,subsequently,the changes of total numbers of colony,water content,ΔE value and texture were detected during the storage period. As results,the shelf live of BR and PO were predicted as 571 d and 504 d under the condition of 25 ℃,60% humidity. After calculating,the monitoring periods for BR and PO were respectively 15 and 13 months,during which the water content steadily sank down,the ΔE increased continually,the hardness and chewiness indices of texture increased steadily and the springiness decreased gradually. It was noteworthy that the amount of microbial and the sensory scores were still in the acceptable range,which suggested that the shelf live of mushroomy gelatinous candies predicted using ASLT were reliable.