MSc

A study entitled “Development and quality evaluation of granular fruit bars”
was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period 2015-17,
with the objective to develop granular fruit bars using fruit pulp, grains, nuts and
pulses and to ascertain sensorial quality, chemical and nutritional composition, shelf
life and consumer acceptability.
Papaya, pineapple and other ingredients such as puffed rice, oats, bengal gram
dal, ground nuts, dried fruits and Jaggery were purchased from the market. Outer coat
of granular fruit bars were developed using pineapple pulp (T1), papaya pulp (T2) and
blended fruit pulp (T3). Food adjuncts such as sugar and pectin were added to obtain
good texture. Fruit bars were dried in tray drier at 55-60°C. After the development of
three fruit bars, TSS was recorded. Drying characteristics like moisture loss, drying
time and yield ratio was ascertained. Moisture loss was higher in T1 (Pineapple bar)
and low in T2 (Papaya bar). Drying time of T1 (Pineapple bar) was on par with T2
(Papaya bar). Drying time required for T3 (blended bar) was 10.84 hours. High yield
ratio (0.81) was observed for T2.
The filling for granular fruit bars were standardised using energy sources such
as puffed rice, flaked rice and oats. Puffed bengal gram dhal and roasted groundnuts
were serve as protein sources. Jaggery was used as the sweetening agent for the
product. To standardise granular bar, different combinations of different ingredients
were formulated. Sensory quality, nutritive value, chemical score and NDP Cal% of
each proportion was computed to identify the best combination. Six treatments were
formulated with varying amounts of ingredients ( Rice flakes, puffed rice, oats,
Bengal gram dhal, ground nuts, jaggery and osmotically dehydrated jackfruits). Three
treatments with appreciable nutrient content, chemical score and NDP Cal% were
selected for further study. T1 obtained the highest chemical score of 109.97 followed
by T3 (98.65) and T2 (93.72). T1 was observed to have the highest value of NDP
Cal% (12.38%) and T2 had the lowest NDP Cal% (9.96%). Based on above
parameters T1, T2 and T3 selected for further study. T1 was identified as best
formulation with the highest score of 35.30 in sensory evaluation using hedonic
rating scale.
The formulated outer fruit bar coat was cut into pieces and filled with T1
(30:25:10:5:5:20:5) and pressed into bars and designated as A1 (pineapple coated
granular fruit bar) A2 (papaya coated granular fruit bar) and A3 (blended bar coated
granular fruit bar.), thus the final products were A1, A2 and A3 GFB (granular fruit
bars). The products (A1, A2 and A3) were packed in laminated pouches and stored at
ambient condition. Quality parameters such as sensory acceptability, chemical and
shelf life of final products were ascertained initially and monthly intervals. Sensory
evaluation of final products revealed highest mean rank score for A2. Polyphenol
(4.21mg) was higher in A2 and all the other chemical components were higher in A1.
TSS recorded for A1 was 78.2°B, reducing sugar (43.02%) and acidity (1.32%). A1
has highest fibre content of 0.46g per 100g. The other nutrients, moisture, protein,
carbohydrate, energy and fat content were higher in A3 and was 20.02%, 40.16 g,
115.06 g, 461.0 KCal and 7.71g respectively. A3 had high total minerals (4.5 g)
calcium, iron, sodium and potassium and the values were 2.36 mg, 2.52 mg, 635.52
mg and 45.03 mg respectively. High vitamin C content was observed for A 3 (23.38
mg) and high β carotene content was noted for A2 (269.798 μg).
Changes in moisture, acidity, sensory appeal and microbial growth if any was
recorded monthly. It was observed that there was a gradual increase in moisture and
acidity in stored granular fruit bars. A3 showed highest moisture content and A1
showed highest per cent of acidity throughout the storage period. Stored GFB showed
gradual decrease in all sensory parameters. Microbial evaluation of GFB, revealed
that, no bacterial colonies were seen in (cfu 1×10-7) in dilution initially. Few colonies
of bacteria and fungus were seen in first month and number of colonies exceeded the
safe limit in second month. Consumer acceptance and preference study among 50
adolescents was rated high for A2. The product cost was computed and it was found
to be Rs. 36.63/- for A1, Rs. 18.75/- for A2 and Rs. 31.53/- for A3. GFB were nutrient
dense, ready to eat product with fruits, grains and pulses with shelf life of one month.