Development of thin film oxygen indicator for modified atmosphere packaged mutton stored under refrigeration

Abstract People are willing and demanding to have quality and quantity both at the least possible price which is consumer friendly i.e., without opening the package with the naked eye based on the color change of the indicator they should draw the conclusion weather to buy the entity or not. So, to ensure quality during supply chain colorimetric oxygen indicating film prepared from the solution B1 [0.1% methylene blue (MB) + 40% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) + 20% Dextrose + 1.5% acid red (AR) in 1:1:1:1 ratio] and corn starch and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose film along with the commercial O2 scavenger which displayed oxygen ingress condition for the packaged mutton was not only developed but its efficiency was evaluated when packaged under modified atmosphere under refrigeration (4 ± 1oC) storage for 20 days for both the control (intact) and the treatment (damaged) groups packaged under modified atmosphere (O2: CO2: N2 = 0: 20: 80) conditions. All the samples were analyzed on 4 days interval i.e., 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 days of refrigeration for various physicochemical, microbial, and sensory properties. The developed colorimetric oxygen-indicating film successfully changed its color from dark yellow to blue in 15 minutes and 2 seconds when exposed to oxygen (O2 concentration > 0.1%) with deterioration in the quality and microbial safety of mutton at refrigerated temperature. The modified atmosphere packaged mutton in refrigerated storage was acceptable until days 8 and 4 for the control (intact MAP) and treatment (oxygen ingressed MAP) groups, respectively.