Optimising bread preservation: use of sourdough in combination with other clean label approaches for enhanced mould-free shelf life of bread
摘要
Fungal growth is a major cause of bread spoilage. Commercial bread formulas thus often contain one or several preservatives. The use of sourdough, addition of antifungal plant ingredients or a reduction of the aW may provide alternatives to chemical preservation. This study explored the use of 10% sourdough fermented with Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis in bread formulations with an aW of 0.96 and 0.92 in presence and absence of propionic acid. Breads were challenged with Aspergillus clavatus FUA5004, Penicillium roqueforti 3969 and P. roqueforti 6130. Sourdough addition alone did not extend the mould-free shelf life when compared to chemically acidified bread. Sourdough in combination with aW 0.92 and addition of propionate extended the mold-free shelf life to up to 9 d. A low aW also increased crumb hardness and decreased the specific volume of bread. Challenge of bread with single spores documented that the use of sourdough, propionate and low aW independently influenced the proportion of germinating spores and the time to germination in a strain-specific manner. In conclusion, the use of sourdough alone is not sufficient to achieve a mould-free shelf life of more than 10 d but sourdough can be an effective complement in preservative systems that achieve a longer shelf life.