Packaging of Chhana Based Sweets

These sweets need to be saved from light, oxygen ingress or egress of moisture,yeast and moulds. The shape and body and texture of these products have also to be protected and some of these sweets are sold dipped in sugar syrup. Rasogulla are usually packed in lacquered tin cans of one kg capacity. The cleaned empty cans are first sterilized in hot air inside a closed chamber. Rasogulla balls with hot sugar syrup and permissible preservatives are filled in containers, and seaming tightly seals the lid. Sodium metabisulphate is used to maintain white colour of tinned rasogulla.The shelf-life of rasogulla in tin containers is around three months. Lacquered tin can is most suitable package, but its cost is very high. Hence, there is a case to develop plastic cans similar to “Letpak” used in European countries. Letpak is extruded and laminated with a PP-Al. foil material. The foil provides the necessary water vapour barrier property, smooth curved corners and good printing surface for multi colour designs. The ends are injection moulded and lined with the same type of laminate as used for the body. They are welded into palce by high frequency sealing. No tool is required to open the lid. The materials are heat resistant and suitable for food contact.The size and dimensions can be standardized to suit the distribution system and consumers need. In the similar fashion rasmalai can be packaged.

Presently sandesh, chhana-murki, etc. are packaged in paper carton or duplex board boxes. These traditional packages do not provide sufficient protection to the product from atmospheric contamination and manual handling. Consequently, the sweets soon lose their typical organoleptic characteristics such as flavour, body and texture,pick up foreign odors, become rancid, get oxidized and result in undesirable appearance due to the mould growth. Also sweets packed in these packages are not suitable for long distance transportation, as they do not provide adequate mechanical, physical and protective properties. The improved packages such as saran coated films, laminates having Al. foil; multi-layered co-extruded films,metallized polyester, etc. could be used for packaging of such sweets.