Fatty acid distribution in fat extracted from market paneer samples preserved with formalin

Abstract

The shelf life of paneer greatly depends upon the number of bacteria and yeast and mould present in it. Paneer provides favourable conditions for the growth of different microorganisms, as a result of which product undergoes physico-chemical, organoleptic, proteolytic and lipolytic changes, which are unacceptable. Under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard act (2006), the food safety officer while collecting the samples of milk and milk products from market for the purpose of checking its authenticity, is required to add a preservative for the purpose of maintaining them in a condition suitable for analysis. Formalin at the rate of 0.4% is the only legally permitted preservative for milk and milk products. To check the efficiency of formalin (0.4%) in preserving paneer samples, the changes in distribution of fatty acid is monitored, as an indicator of fat degradation. Addition of 0.4% formalin did not affect the fatty acid profile of fat extracted from paneer. However during storage decrease in short and medium chain fatty acid was found Due to the growth and activity of micro-organisms, the short chain water soluble fatty acids released from the fat may not have been accounted and therefore significant reduction in short chain fatty acid (%) were observed. Besides this, the oxidative changes in the milk lipids during storage can also produce short chain fatty acids which remain unaccounted being water soluble. The overall change in fatty acid profile of fat extracted from paneer samples during storage may be as a result of interplay of all these factors.