Comportamiento de atributos físicos, químicos y microbiológicos en catsup durante su almacenamiento J. Food Sci. Gastron . (January - June 2023) 1(1): 12-15https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13975021ISSN: 3073-1283 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Behavior of physical, chemical, and microbiological attributes in ketchup during storage Olga González olga.gonzalez@enet.cu 1 Fábrica Elpidio Aguilar Rodríguez, La Habana, Cuba.2 Instituto Politécnico de Alimentos Ejército Rebelde, La Habana, Cuba.Received: 12 December 2022 / Accepted: 10 January 2023 / Published online: 31 January 2023© The Author(s) 2023 Olga González 1 · Rosa E. Sánchez 2 · Yenisé Elledías 2 Abstract In some cases, after the production of ketchup, electrical interruptions occurred, forcing the product to be bottled at temperatures diferent from the established stan - dards, which afected its quality. This study aimed to evalu -ate the changes in the ketchup produced at the Elpidio Agui- lar factory during one month of storage at room temperature. The products met the quality specifcations for acidity, show - ing an increase in this parameter over time. The ketchup bot - tled on the same day of production had an acidity of 1.41%, which was lower than that of the product bottled 24 hours later (1.47%). The sodium chloride content remained with - in the established limits (1.81 and 1.75%, respectively). The soluble solids contents complied with the standard (25.0-28.0 ºBrix). Furthermore, microbiological analyses revealed the absence of fungi and yeasts, demonstrating that the fac - tory adhered to good manufacturing practices to eliminate microbial contamination. Keywords ketchup, physical attributes, chemical attri -butes, microbiological attributes, storage. Resumen En algunas ocasiones, luego de la elaboración del catsup, se produjeron interrupciones eléctricas que obli - garon a envasar el producto a temperaturas diferentes a las normalizadas, lo que afectó su calidad. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar los cambios en el catsup elaborado en la fábrica Elpidio Aguilar durante un mes de almacenamien-to a temperatura ambiente. Los productos cumplieron con las especifcaciones de calidad para la acidez mostrando un incremento en este parámetro a lo largo del tiempo. El catsup envasado el mismo día de la elaboración presentó una acidez de 1,41 %, menor que la del producto envasado 24 horas des - pués (1,47 %). El contenido de cloruro de sodio se mantuvo dentro de los límites establecidos (1,81 y 1,75 %, respec - tivamente). Los contenidos de sólidos solubles cumplieron con la norma (25,0-28,0 ºBrix). Además, los análisis micro - biológicos revelaron ausencia de hongos y levaduras, lo que demostró que la fábrica cumplió con las buenas prácticas de producción para eliminar la contaminación microbiológica. Palabras clave catsup, atributos físicos, atributos químicos, atributos microbiológicos, almacenamiento. How to cite González, O., Sánchez, R.E., & Elledías, Y. (2023) Behavior of physical, chemical, and microbiological attributes in ketchup during storage. Journal of Food Science and Gastronomy , 1(1), 12-15. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13975021
J. Food Sci. Gastron . (January - June 2023) 1(1): 12-15 13 Introduction The Elpidio Aguilar Rodríguez Factory in Havana, Cuba, has been producing various products for the country for many years, including Neapolitan sauce, concentrated toma - to, dry seasoning, fried potato, fried sweet potato, mustard, and ketchup. Ketchup is a very popular sauce, typically made with ripe tomatoes. The basic ingredients in modern ketchup include tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper, cloves, and cin - namon, as well as onions, celery, and other vegetables.Storage studies are fundamental in the development of new products, especially when there are variations in the production of existing ones or the substitution or change of specifcations for any raw material or material. The deter - mination of the shelf life of a food product may seem strai - ghtforward; however, estimating the product’s durability presents multiple challenges. These include the diversity of spoilage pathways, the intrinsic stability of the products, the diferent types of packaging, the technologies used in their production, and the storage conditions. In our country, ketchup is highly accepted among consu - mers and has become a commonly used product in home cooking. These reasons indicate that shelf life must be known by both domestic and foreign consumers, as well as by producers and exporters.In this regard, this study focused on evaluating the phys -ical, chemical, and microbiological attributes of ketchup produced at the Elpidio Aguilar factory and stored at room temperature for one month. Materials and methods The ketchup was produced at the Elpidio Aguilar Rodrí - guez Factory in Havana, Cuba. Various raw materials were used, with concentrated tomato as the main ingredient. Ad- ditionally, modifed starch was incorporated as a thickener to achieve the product’s characteristic viscosity, vinegar was added to develop favor, fne salt served as a preservative and favor enhancer, refned sugar contributed to the taste pro - fle, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate were used as preservatives, citric acid acted as an antioxidant to minimize oxidative reactions, and sweet paprika provided aroma and color. A specifc ketchup seasoning was also added to enrich the favor.The production process included several stages: frst, the ingredients were mixed, followed by cooking to ensure pro - per integration and favor development. The product charac -teristics were then adjusted according to the desired speci- fcations. The ketchup was flled into containers, sealed to ensure preservation, and appropriately labeled and capped. Finally, shrink-wrapping was performed for packaging, and the product was marked before storage as a fnished product.Evaluations of the physical and chemical quality attributes were carried out at the beginning and end of each storage pe- riod. Acidity, pH, sodium chloride, and soluble solids were determined according to established methods. Additionally, microbiological analyses were conducted for the total count of fungi and yeasts at the beginning and end of each storage period. The data were analyzed using STATISTICA softwa - re, calculating means and exporting results to Excel, where they were graphically represented for easier interpretation. Results and discussion Acidity is one of the most relevant parameters that must be controlled in foods, both in the raw material and in the pro- duction process and fnal product. Reviewing food quality control standards, it is observed that acidity determination is applied to a wide variety of products due to its direct impact on organoleptic characteristics, as well as on technological and preservation properties.In many cases, acidity is associated with degradative pro - cesses in foods. An unexpected increase in acidity may indi -cate possible microbial contamination, as certain microorga- nisms, such as lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, produce acids during their metabolism. Alternatively, changes in acidity may result from inadequate product formulation.Therefore, acidity determination presents itself as a valuable tool for monitoring food spoilage over time, supporting the existence of quality control standards that regulate accept - able ranges for this parameter in each type of product. The obtained acidity data were graphed for better understanding and further analysis (Figure 1). Figure 1. Behavior of acidity in the ketchup during storage.The initial acidity of the product, and consequently its pH, are infuenced by the acidity characteristics of the raw mate - rials used in its production, primarily by the tomato concen - trate and the acetic acid present in the vinegar.
J. Food Sci. Gastron . (January - June 2023) 1(1): 12-15 14 The results of pH and acidity measurements obtained in the ketchup evaluations are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Results of pH for the treatments TreatmentTime (days)pH Ketchup packaged the same day it is made03.7073.73143.75213.78283.86Ketchup packaged 24 hours after preparation 03.7773.77143.87213.80283.79The products displayed acidity values during storage that were in accordance with those established in NEIAL 1645-209: 2004 (1.3-2.3%) and those reported by some authors, who indicated values of 1.5-2.0% (Zumbado, 2005), as well as a pH lower than 4.2 (MS 8.28, 1978). However, an in - crease in acidity was observed over time, with the product packaged on the same day of production showing lower acidity compared to the product packaged 24 hours after its production. The determination of sodium chloride content constituted one of the most important chemical analyses conducted on foods as part of quality control. The signifcance of this de -termination arose from the multiple functions that sodium chloride, or common salt, performs in foods, making it one of the most widely used food additives in the food industry.Sodium chloride has a decisive infuence on the organolep - tic characteristics of foods, especially on favor, as it is one of the basic tastes (salty) and also contributes to enhancing the other favors in foods, thereby improving their palatabil - ity (Zumbado, 2005). Another crucial function of sodium chloride in foods is its ability to promote their preservation (Zumbado, 2005). Table 2 presents the results of sodium chloride determinations obtained in the ketchup evaluations. Table 2. Results of sodium chloride for the treatments TreatmentTime (days)NaCl (%) Ketchup packaged the same day it is made01.7971.75141.79211.77281.81Ketchup packaged 24 hours after preparation 01.7771.75141.75211.75281.75The sodium chloride content of the product was attributed to the addition of fne salt in the formulation and to the con -tribution from the tomato concentrate used as raw materials. Both treatments presented sodium chloride values that corre - sponded to those expressed in NEIAL 1645-209 (2004) (1.3-2.0%), as well as to the values reported by some authors, which ranged from 1.3 to 1.9% (Zumbado, 2005). Hankin (1986) found sodium chloride values in ketchup exceeded 3.54%, which was due to diferences in the formulation of the wide range of similar products marketed worldwide. Figure 2 shows the results obtained from the refractomet -ric measurement of the soluble solids content present in the product. Figure 2. Behavior of the soluble solids content in the ket -chup during storage. The soluble solids content obtained for the product was determined by the raw materials used in its manufacturing, which contributed soluble solids, such as refned sugar and tomato concentrate. The °Brix values of both treatments du - ring storage complied with those expressed in NEIAL 1645-209 (2004) (25.0-28.0%).The counts referred to fragments of fungal mycelium that had developed in the food or to colonies on plates of an appropriate medium. In the frst case, this could be used to assess the quality of the raw materials used in the pro - duction of a product, usually of plant origin; the presence of inhibitory substances and even the lack of viability of the fungus were not signifcant. In contrast, when the aim was to determine the number of microorganisms present, it was essential to perform a viable count to estimate the level of contamination as an indicator of poor hygiene practices (Ca - lizaya et al., 2010).As soil constitutes the largest reservoir of fungi, its contact with food easily translated into an increase in the microbial load. The microbiological analyses for counting fungi and
J. Food Sci. Gastron . (January - June 2023) 1(1): 12-15 15 yeasts performed on the product during storage were nega - tive, demonstrating that the factory adhered to good manu -facturing practices to minimize and, in this case, eliminate any microbiological contamination that could invalidate the product’s marketability. Conclusions During storage, the products met the quality specifcations for acidity, which showed an increase over time. The prod - uct packaged on the same day of its preparation had a lower acidity compared to the one packaged 24 hours later. The sodium chloride content, attributed to the added fne salt and the tomato concentrate, also remained within the established parameters. The soluble solids, determined by refned sug - ar and tomato concentrate, complied with quality standards. Furthermore, the microbiological analyses for counting fungi and yeasts were negative, demonstrating adherence to good manufacturing practices in the factory, ensuring the minimi - zation and elimination of any microbiological contamination that could afect the product’s marketability. References Calizaya, C., Salazar, G., & Silva, J. (2010). Evaluación de hongos ambientales en mercados de abastos de la ciu- dad de Tacna - Perú. Revista mexicana de micología , 31 , 65-67. http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?scrip - t=sci_arttext&pid=S0187-31802010000100009&ln -g=es&tlng=es Hankin, L. (1986). Quality of tomato paste, sauce, puree, and catsup . Bulletin, Connecticut Agricultural Exper -iment Station. MS 8.28 (1978). Specifcation for tomato ketchup . Malaysia, Standards & Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia, 38pp.NC 76-04-13. (1982). Determinación de hongos y levaduras viables . Cuba.NC-ISO 1842. (2001). Productos de frutas y vegetales. De-terminación del pH . Cuba.NC-ISO 2173. (2001). Productos de frutas y vegetales. De-terminación del contenido de sólidos solubles. Método refractométrico . Cuba.NC-ISO 750. (2001). Productos de frutas y vegetales. Deter-minación de la acidez valorable . Cuba.NEIAL 1645.209 (2 004). Norma de Empresa. Conservas de Frutas y Vegetales. Catsup. Especifcaciones de cali -dad. Cuba. Unión Europea. Códigos de la Unión Europea. Número de identifcación de los aditivos alimentarios . http://www.eufc.org/sp/journalist/aditivos_alimentarios.htm#07Zumbado, H. (2005). Análisis Químico de los Alimentos. Métodos Clásicos . [CDROM]. Instituto de Farmacia y Alimentos, Universidad de La Habana. Conficts of interest The authors declare that they have no conficts of interest. Author contributions Olga González, Rosa E. Sánchez and Yenisé Elledías: Con - ceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, supervision, validation, visualization, drafting the original manuscript and writing, review, and editing. Data availability statement The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Statement on the use of AI The authors acknowledge the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies to improve the readability and cla - rity of the article. Disclaimer/Editor’s note The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publi - cations are solely those of the individual authors and contri - butors and not of Journal of Food Science and Gastronomy.Journal of Food Science and Gastronomy and/or the edi - tors disclaim any responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions, or products mentioned in the content.