The Effect of Package Type on Selected Parameters of Nutritional Quality of the Chilled Stored Red Sauerkraut

The key elements responsible for the quality of food are the technologies used to process raw materials and preserve obtained products. The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of package type (bags made from low density polyethylene [PE-LD] and the metallized polyethylene terephthalate [PET met/PE foil]) on selected quality parameters of the chilled stored red sauerkraut. Vegetables were analyzed before packaging and after 1, 2, 3 and 4 months of chilled storage in two types of a package. It has been found that the package type used had no statistically significant (P > 0.05) effect on vitamin C, total polyphenols, thiocyanates contents and antioxidant activity of the chilled stored red sauerkraut. Practical Applications Red cabbage is commonly occurring in a diet as an additive to meat dishes and other rich-in-fat products, which favor tumor transformation. Due to high consumption and availability throughout the year cabbage, both fresh and sour could potentially be a significant element in chemoprevention of cancer. Sauerkraut, despite the losses in some components, retains a high nutritional value and is additionally enriched with precious constituents positively affecting the consumers' health. Furthermore, its flavor raises significantly that, in turn, contributes to increasing consumption compared to the raw cabbage. Vegetables are a delicate raw material for storage. Selections of suitable packaging materials guarantee high quality of products with regard to their sensory and nutritional characteristics.