Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the storage quality and shelf-life of tough corn pancakes. Tough pancakes were prepared from a mixture of corn and wheat flours and were stored for up to 14 days. Changes in sensory quality, physicochemical and microbiological indices, texture and starch retrogradation characteristics were measured during the storage period. The key factors affecting the quality change of corn pancakes during storage were discussed, and a shelf-life prediction model for corn pancake was established. The results obtained showed that during storage at 4, 25 and 40 ℃, acid value, peroxide value (POV), the total number of bacterial colonies, enthalpy value and the color parameter b* value increased, while toughness, ductility, the color parameters L* and a* values, and sensory score gradually decreased. According to correlation analysis, the total number of bacterial colonies could be used as a quality indicator to evaluate the storage life of corn pancakes. A kinetic model for the growth of total bacterial colonies under different temperature conditions and a kinetic model with storage temperature as an independent variable were established. The bias factor (Bf) of the developed model was 0.899–1.051, and the accuracy factor (Af) was 1.126–1.281. Further, a shelf-life prediction model for tough corn pancakes was established, and the error between the predicted and actual values was ?4.10%–2.91%, indicating that this model can quickly and reliably predict the shelf-life of corn pancakes. This study will provide technical support and a theoretical basis for the industrial production of corn pancake and related products.

Key words: corn pancake; storage quality; shelf-life prediction model