BIOBASED PACKAGING FOR W-3 FORTIFIED BISCUITS: AROMA QUALITY STABILITY OVER TIME

Functional foods, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements as part of a controlled lifestyle can provide opportunities to reduce health risk factors and address the need for prevention and control of diet-related chronic diseases to save healthcare resources [1]. The development of functional foods that target the needs of specific consumer groups (especially young children and the elderly) is motivated by specific market demands and needs [2]. Environmental sustainability is also an important aspect, driven by the design and use of innovative, biodegradable and recyclable packaging that is also able to maintain the flavour and nutritional quality of the product [3]. The aim of this work is to evaluate the quality and the evolution over time of the aromatic fraction of biscuits functionalized with oils enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and packaged in innovative and more sustainable packaging (BB961, NK, NKME, NKPLA). The evaluation was carried out from T0 to T5 and comparative analyses were performed on the stability of the same samples stored in the conventional packaging and the original recipe stored in the innovative packaging. For the characterisation of the compounds contained in the volatile fraction of the biscuits, the technique of online headspace analysis in conjunction with gas chromatography with mass spectrometry as detector (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was used. The analysis of the aromatic properties and their stability over time when packaged in different packages showed that the biscuit recipes formulated with the blend of N6 oils (10% hemp, 90% EVO) are less accustomed to the development of oxidation compounds than those with the N29 blend (20% hemp, 40% EVO, 40%OO) [4-5]. Empty packaging has its own profile of volatile organic compounds, with components such as propylene glycol, acetone and toluene being relatively common. Depending on the type of formulation, some packages have slightly different interactions (NK and NKME). The material BB961 is the least inert of all. It can even be said that this packaging tends to absorb compounds from the biscuit that give it characteristic aromatic notes and instead release compounds that characterise the packaging material. In contrast, the situation is more favourable for the other two types of packaging. In particular, the NKPLA packaging seems to have a tendency to adsorb those components that can be associated with the lipid oxidation of the biscuit.