Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on Physicochemical and Sensory characteristics of Traditional Ice cream

Introduction: Due to the increasing use of irradiation in food safety as an efficient and supplement method, it is needed to investigate effects of this new technology on the apparent and organoleptic characteristics of different products. Because primarily thing that attracts the attention of the customer to buy a food product is its appearance characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of electron beam irradiation on traditional ice cream. Methods: Ice cream samples were shopped in the city and were moved to the laboratory in defined conditions into the cool box to keep sample frozen. In keeping with freezing conditions, samples were irradiated by electron beam in -18at doses of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 5 kGy. And after one week of storage at -18℃, physicochemical tests including moisture, fat, sugar, pH and sensory tests including color, odor, taste and overall acceptability, were done on it. Results: Results showed that there was no significant difference between irradiated and non-irradiated in the amount of sugar, fat and pH. However, it can be seen significant differences in the moisture content measured in the treated samples with electron beam and untreated one (p<0.05) Also, although the doses of 1 and 2 kGy had no significant effect on the organoleptic characteristics of the product, but with increasing irradiation dose up to 2 kGy, overall acceptability&nbsp; ​​and color significantly decreased (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the result, &nbsp;it can be concluded that the maximum recommended dose is 2 kGy for irradiation traditional ice cream product and &nbsp;higher doses caused a decline in quality of product