The Effect of Temperature, Light, Freeze—Thaw Cycling, and Package Material On the Flavor Stability of Frozen Pizza

The effect of storage temperature, freeze-thaw cycling, exposure to display light, and packaging material and method on flavor stability of frozen pizzas was investigated. Pork sausage and pepperoni were removed from pizzas and evaluated monthly, for five months. The extent of lipid oxidation was estimated by thiobarbi turic acid (TBA) value and generally was correlated to results from sensory evalua tion. Storage at —7°C accelerated oxidation of pork sausage in comparison to storage at — 18°C while exposure to display light (200 foot candles-fluorescent light for eight hours) had no significant effect. Packaging pizza in a good oxygen barrier material (nylon/polyethylene laminate) and sealing under vacuum substantially improved sta bility of the pork sausage in comparison to pizzas packaged in a poor barrier material.