The Effect of Orange Peel Oil on Physicochemical, Microbiological and Sensory Properties of Plum Fruit Roll Ups

By increasing consumer awareness about food safety and quality, there is a high demand for the preservative (synthetic)-free foods and use of natural products as preservatives. Plants are the main source of antimicrobials and contain many essential oils that have preservation effect against different microorganisms. The effect of natural orange peel oil on the chemical and microbiological and sensory properties of plum fruit roll ups was investigated during 15 days. The result of the Tensile strength tests plum fruit roll ups showed that adding orange peel to plum fruit roll ups significantly (P<0.05) increased the tensile strength. At the end of storage of all samples, with orange peel oil the lowest pH content and highest acidity level were observed in the sample with 0.5% orange peel oil and no mold and yeast were observed in any of the samples. The sample with 0.5% had a maximum amount of lactic acid bacteria and the sample with 0.1% orange peel oil had a minimum amount of lactic acid bacteria. The results showed that sample with 0.5% orange peel oil had minimum number of total counts of bacteria and Control sample had a maximum amount of total counts of bacteria. The analysis of variance did not show any significant difference in plum fruit roll ups. According to the results of the analysis of variance, the highest texture, taste and aroma score belonged to the control sample. From the results, it can be deduced that due to the antimicrobial properties of orange peel essence and its positive effects on tissue characteristics, it can be used as a natural preservative in the plum fruit roll ups.