C: Food Chemistry Evaluating the Impacts of Selected Packaging Materials on the Quality Attributes of Cassava Flour (cvs. TME 419 and UMUCASS 36) Umezuruike Linus Opara, Oluwafemi J. Caleb, and Amarachi D. Uchechukwu-Agua Abstract: The influence of packaging materials (plastic bucket, low density polyethylene [LDPE] bags and paper bags) on quality attributes of the flour of 2 cassava cultivars (TME 419 and UMUCASS 36) stored at 23 ± 2 °C and 60% relative humidity (RH) were investigated for 12 wk. Cassava flour from each package type was evaluated for proximate composition, physicochemical properties and microbial growth at 4-wk intervals. Total color difference ( E) of both cassava flour cultivars increased with storage duration. Flour packed in plastic bucket had the lowest change in color (3.2 ± 0.42) for cv. “TME 419ˮ and (4.1 ± 0.87) for cv. “UMUCASS 36ˮ at the end of week 12. Total carotenoid decreased across all treatment, and after the 12 wk storage, the highest total carotenoid retention (1.7 ± 0.02 and 2.0 ± 0.05 μg/mL) was observed in flour packed in plastic bucket. However, cassava flour in paper bag had the lowest microbial count of 3.4 ± 0.03 and 3.4 ± 0.08 log cfu/g for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria and fungi, respectively. Keywords: carotenoids, microbial safety, packaging, postharvest, shelf life Practical Application: This study provides useful guide for processing, packaging, storage, exporting, and utilization of unfermented cassava flour and cassava based products. Introduction The global annual production of cassava was recently estimated to be over 238000 tonnes (FAOSTAT 2013), and about 85% of the roots are processed into different food forms such as garri, lafun, fufu, and composite flour for domestic and industrial purposes (Shittu and others 2008). Most of these minimally processed by- products of cassava roots are affected by poor postharvest handling, packaging and storage, which consequently result in losses and lim- ited/shorter shelf life (Opara 2003). However, cassava flour gives the benefit of longer shelf life stability with reduced cyanogenic compound in comparison to the root (Uchechukwu-Agua and others 2015). High quality cassava flour (HQCF) is a potential product for composite flour in baking of bread. Studies have shown that cassava flour is a good substitute for wheat flour in food pro- cessing (Nwabueze and Anoruoh 2009). This is attributed to its high energy value, gluten free nature, low cost of production and availability (Gyedu-Akoto and Laryea 2013). Food packaging offers the benefit of containment, easy commu- nication, convenience, and the protective measures from contami- nation associated with postharvest handling (Opara and Mditshwa 2013). One major postharvest challenge limiting the shelf life and quality of flour is the use of improper packaging materi- als. Thus, optimum storage condition and packaging is essential MS 20142079 Submitted 12/19/2014, Accepted 11/25/2015. Authors Opara, Caleb, and Uchechukwu-Agua are with Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Dept. of Food Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch Univ., Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa. Authors Opara and Caleb are also with Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Dept. of Horticultural Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch Univ., Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa. Author Caleb is now with Dept. of Horticultural Engineering, Leibniz Inst. for Agricultural Engineering (ATB), Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469, Potsdam, Germany. Direct inquiries to author Opara (E-mail: opara@sun.ac.za). reduce postharvest losses, extend shelf life, maintain quality, im- prove market standard, and food safety (Inyang and others 2006; Opara and Al-Ani 2010). Various packaging materials have been reported in literature for flour storage including paper bags, plastic buckets, polyethylene bags, sack bags, or a combination of mate- rials such as laminated paper bags or jute bags with polyethylene lamination (Ogiehor and Ikenobomeh 2006; Ogugbue and Glo- ria 2011). Ogiehor and Ikenobomeh (2006) evaluated the effect of different packaging materials (LDPE bags, Hessian bag, HDPE bags, and plastic buckets) on the stability of garri stored at 30 °C for 24 wk. The authors observed an increase in moisture content (12.15 ± 0.01% to 19.18 ± 0.25%), which resulted in higher microbial load during the storage of garri across all the packages. However, to date there is limited information on shelf life stability of unfermented cassava flour stored in different packaging mate- rials over long-term period. Hence, this work evaluated the im- pacts of 3 selected packaging materials (plastic bucket, low density polyethylene bag [LPDE] and brown paper bag) on the proximate composition, physicochemical properties, and microbial stability of unfermented cassava flour stored at ambient temperature (23 ± 2 °C, 60% RH) for 12 wk. Materials and Methods Plant materials and processing One of the newly released yellow cassava cultivars “UMU- CASS 36ˮ and a white root “TME 419ˮ were used. Fresh cassava were harvested after 12 mo of planting from the Na- tional Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) in Umudike (5°28  33  N7°32  56  E), Abia state, Nigeria. The freshly har- vested cassava root were sorted, washed, peeled, and rewashed with clean running tap water. Processing into shredded material was done immediately after washing to avoid enzymatic browning, fermentation or onset of deterioration. A shredding machine (YS QS400, Shandong, China) was used to cut the roots into shredded C  2015 Institute of Food Technologists R  C324 Journal of Food Science  Vol. 81, Nr. 2, 2016 doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.13199 Further reproduction without permission is prohibited