Assessment of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose with corn silk polysaccharides to enhance packaging performance and stability of low moisture mozzarella cheese

Abstract A novel film composed from hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPM) and corn silk polysaccharides (CSP) was prepared (HPM-CS). The effects of substituting different percentages from HPM with CSP on HPM-CS characteristics were investigated. The substituting of HPM by 37.5% of CSP enhanced mechanical properties 58.71% for tensile strength (TS) and 54.29% for elongation at break (EB), opacity, antioxidant activities, smooth and continuous surface without any grooves and biodegradability of produced films. However, the presence of CSP inside HPM-CS films reduced thermal stability and disturbed the crystallinity shapes at high concentrations. The best HPM concentration (1g/100mL) sample with optimum CSP concentration of (0.6g/ 100) mL was used as food wrapping material for low-moisture mozzarella cheese. The packaging material kept the stability of total microbial count in hygienic scale up to 40 days of cold storage, moisture loss and pH values up to 30 days. Additionally, the results of hedonic sensory evaluation were satisfied compared with fresh cheese until 30 days of storage.