Storage Stability of Tomato Paste Packaged in Plastic Bottle and Polythene Stored in Ambient Temperature
Famurewa, J.A.V.; Ibidapo, P. O.; Olaifa, Y.

Abstract
Packaging plays an important role in achieving the objectives of safety and waste prevention. This study investigated the effect of using plastic bottles and polythene tube as packaging materials for tomato paste. Paste was produced by concentrating tomato pulp, preservatives were added and packaged with plastic bottles and polythene. Physicochemical analyses were carried out to determine pH, total solids, protein content, ascorbic acid, ash content, brix and titratable acidity. Microbial analyses were also carried out. Results indicated that all samples showed a significant increase in pH with decrease in titratable acidity during storage. While protein content, vitamin C, total solids of all the samples decreased during storage, brix values remained constant and ash content increased. Tomato paste packaged in bottle retained higher amount of vitamin C at the end of the storage period than the one in polythene. Regression analysis showed that bottled samples will retain about 95% of its protein till week ten while polythene samples will retain about 89%. Generally, samples in bottles retained their nutrients more than those in polythene and can be stored for ten weeks while polythene samples can only be stored for seven weeks.

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