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Introduction. Bakery products are items of mass consumption in view of its low price and high nutrient value. With rapid growth and changing eating habits of people, bakery products have gained popularity among masses. Materials and Methods. About 200 working and 200 non-working women were selected by simple random sampling method from Central India, Maharashtra, India and the data was collected using interview cum questionnaire method. Purchasing pattern of five bakery products viz., bread, buns, biscuit, cake and pizza bread were studied with respect to age group, qualification, family size, number of earning members and family monthly income of the working and nonworking women. Results and Discussion. The results of the study showed that the average age of working women was 39.39± 6.15 years and non-working women was 38.36±5.7 years. The average monthly income of working and non-working women was Rs. 38,125±19,550 and Rs. 40,625±20,825 respectively. Bread was found to be the most consumed bakery products among both types of families (79.5% in working and 83.5% non-working) followed by biscuits (76.5% in working and 70.5% non-working). The purchasing of buns, cake and pizza bread among working women were 7.5%, 19 % and 14% whereas among nonworking families it was 13%, 23% and 18.5% respectively. The significant associations were observed between the purchasing pattern of bread (p=0.000), biscuits (p=0.000) and cake (p=0.010) with the educational status of working and non-working women. The age group, family size, number of earning members and monthly income of working and non-working women did not show any association with the purchasing pattern of bakery products. Conclusion. Purchasing of bakery products was same in both working and nonworking women. Among demographic characteristics, education of women significantly affected the purchasing pattern of bakery products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The present investigation evaluated the effect of storage and packaging conditions on retention of ascorbic acid content of fenugreek leaves. Materials and methods: Fenugreek leaves (Trigonella Foenum- Graceum) with and without roots weighing 100 g were made and packed in perforated and non-perforated flexible consumer packets of 30 x 25 cm (750 sq cm) of four different types viz., LDPE -100 gauge, LDPE -200 gauge, PP-100 gauge and PP -200 gauge. For perforations 24 vents of 0.59 cm diameter were made covering an area of 1.87 sq. cm. These samples were stored at ambient (14-35° C, RH 50-60 per cent) and low temperature (0-5° C, RH 80-90 per cent) till acceptable. The samples were analyzed at regular intervals for ascorbic acid content using 2, 6 dichlorophenol indophenol method. Results and discussion: Fresh fenugreek leaves contained 51.4 mg/100g ascorbic acid. At lower temperature, fenugreek samples without root in non-perforated package (NPWORL) had a shelf life of six days and mean ascorbic acid retention of 80.95%. Packaging the samples with root (NPWRL) reduced the shelf life to four days period and retained 66.05% of ascorbic acid. Perforation in the packaging material also reduced the storage period to four days in both with (PWRL) and without root (PWORL) fenugreek samples. Fenugreek samples without and with roots stored at ambient temperature in non-perforated package (NPWORA and NPWRA) showed a maximum shelf life of two days with mean ascorbic acid retention of 69.99% and 56.47% respectively. A gradual decrease in the mean ascorbic acid content was observed at both low and ambient temperatures with the presence of roots and perforation in the packaging material. This decrease was observed to be significant at both low (p=0.004) and ambient (p= 0.055) temperatures. The ascorbic acid was also found to decrease with increase in days of storage at both low as well as ambient temperatures. The flexible packaging materials viz., LDPE and PP of 100 and 200 gauge did not show any significant difference in retention of ascorbic acid. Amongst interaction between perforations, roots, temperature, days of storage and packaging materials, the interactions between days of storage were found to be significant with perforations (p =0.023), root (p=0.053) and temperature (p= 0.00). Conclusions: Fenugreek samples stored without roots in nonperforated packaging material reflected significantly (p= 0.00) highest retention of ascorbic acid at low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]