الملخص الإنجليزي
The objectives of the study were, therefore, to carry out a general characterization as well as an investigation on plasticizers that may migrate from packaging materials into Omani Halwa.
Results have shown that out of 13 raw plastic material samples analyzed, 7 indicated the presence of plasticizers. Eight plastic packages were also analyzed; four have shown the presence of different types of plasticizers. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrophotometer (GC MS) was used to carry out the analysis. Plasticizers found were: bis (2-ethylehexyl) phthalate, phthalic acid, diisooctyl ester, diisooctyl adipate, dibutyl phthalate, didodecyl phthalate and di-n Octyl phthalate. On the other hand, it was found that there was no migration of plasticizers into halwa samples during the one-month of storage period at temperatures ranging from 4 to 37°C.
Results of the sensory evaluation following the triangle test showed that there was no significant difference (P<0.05) between halwa samples packed in plastic and glass containers, separately.
The effect of storage time and conditions on physical properties of halwa, such as color and texture (adhesiveness) was studied. Results have shown that after four weeks of storage, the halwa samples stored in glass package were more adhesive than the ones packed in plastic. On the other hand, results of color analysis has shown that the overall change in color of halwa samples stored in the plastic container was higher than that of glass container.
