Development, physico-chemical and sensory evaluation of natural nutra candy

Abstract

A candy was developed using natural ingredients without any addition of chemical compounds or preservatives to supplement iron, calcium and vitamin E in the diet. Moisture content, texture, carbohydrates, nitrogen content, protein content, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin E and aflatoxins were evaluated and 9-point hedonic test was used to analyze the overall acceptability of the nutra candy. Fresh candy had 5.8 % of moisture content which gradually increased to 10 % in low density polyethylene (LDPE) packaging material and up to 8.8 % in glass packaging material on 140th day of storage. Total sugars were estimated to be 163.5 μg/ml in freshly prepared candy and an increase in this value was recorded during the storage period. Mineral estimation was carried using the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) method. The candy reportedly had 71.5 mg% of iron, 130 mg% of calcium, 2.8 mg% of phosphorus and, 17.3 mg% of vitamin E. It was also observed that candy could be preserved for 140 days in LDPE and glass packaging material at room temperature (23 ± 5 °C). Process was optimized to reduce loss of nutrients, which was essential to retain calcium, iron and vitamin E in the final product as no fortification has been done. The present study suggested that the candy can partly meet the vitamin E requirement and supplement iron and calcium as per recommended dietary allowance (RDA).