Finally, the chosen active agent needs to be incorporated into
packaging material. It has to be taken into account that limited
amount of antioxidant can be incorporated without changing the
physical properties of material. Frequently, in vivo experiments (i.e.
with foodstuffs) require much more amount of antioxidant in the
packaging than that optimized in in vitro tests (i.e. using indirect
measurements of antioxidant capacity). These factors make even
more difficult and complex to find a perfect solution for extending
the shelf-life of white sliced mushrooms. Fig.1 shows the scheme of
the steps taken to develop the active packaging.
The active packaging was intended to exhibit appreciable antioxidant
properties, so several parameters were studied and optimised
to maximise the antioxidant effect on the packaged
mushrooms. Sliced rather than entire mushrooms were chosen as
target product, because of their higher susceptibility to oxidation
and colour change. Test pouches containing the slices of mushrooms
and the antioxidant agent were prepared as described above
to run as many replicates as possible.