Evaluation of the Impact of Packaging Methods on the Oxidative Stability of Milled Flaxseed

Mehmet C. Tulbek¹, Bin Zhao², Clifford Hall III³

¹Northern Crops Institute, Fargo, ND

²Kraft Foods Incorporation, East Hanover, NJ

³NDSU Department of Cereal and Food Sciences, Fargo, ND

Abstract

Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum; linseed) is an emerging phytochemical source for the functional food industry. Flaxseed contains secoisolarecinol diglycoside (SDG) and high content of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, omega-3) which were reported to be beneficial for the prevention of heart disease and various cancers. Flaxseed is susceptible to oxidation and alpha-linolenic acid can further oxidize into aldehydes and alcohols during storage. The objective of this study is to investigate the storage stability of ground flaxseed under various packaging methods. The oil stability of milled flaxseed stored at 30°C and 60°C was evaluated. Milled flaxseed stored in plastic bags had significantly higher (P<0.05) aldehyde content than milled flaxseed stored in aluminum bags. Pentenal and hexenal aldehydes were found to be higher in the 7-week stored plastic bag samples compared to 3-week samples. Results indicated that the aluminum-foil packaging can provide better shelf life stability than the plastic packaging application due to the inhibition of photoxidation. Significant differences were observed among the vacuum packaging compared to combined nitrogen flush vacuum packaging application.