Modeling the Migration of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol from Plastic Bags into attiéké (Cassava Couscous) from Physico-Chemical and Morphometric Parameters

Abstract

Attieke, couscous made from fermented cassava, is a staple food in Cote d'Ivoire packaged in polythene plastic bags. The antioxidant BHT was analyzed both in the plastic bags and in the attieke at different temperatures and at different levels inside the attieke ball. A modelling study was conducted to determine a quantitative relationship between the BHT concentration in the attieke and the descriptors which are the concentration of BHT in the plastic bag, grain size, depth (from the surface to inside the attieke ball), duration and conditioning temperature of the attieke in the plastic bags. BHT, initially not detected in the attieke, migrates there depending on the packaging temperature of this commodity and certain parameters. This study was conducted by using multiple linear regression. A quantitative model was proposed. The statistical indicators revealed effective predictions with the determination coefficient equal to 0.92 and the standard error equal to 0.191. The value of the Fischer test was 170.250 and the cross-validation determination coefficient was 0.9136. The results obtained suggest that the combination of the descriptors used could be useful in predicting attieke contamination by plastic bags. Temperature is the most important descriptor for predicting the BHT concentration in the attieke with a normalized coefficient equal to 0.846 followed by depth (from the surface to inside the attieke ball) (-0.822).