ANALISIS PENGARUH WAKTU DAN SUHU PENYIMPANAN TERHADAP KESTABILAN MIKROBIOLOGIS VIRGIN COCONUT OIL (VCO) DALAM KEMASAN BOTOL KACA BERDASARKAN TOTAL PLATE COUNT (TPC)

Abstrak

Indonesia is one of the world's largest coconut producers, with production reaching 49.7 million tons in 2021, where coconut meat is widely used as a raw material for virgin coconut oil (VCO). The total plate count (TPC) method is used to determine the number of microorganisms as an indicator of food hygiene, quality, and safety. This study aims to determine the effect of storage temperature variations on the microbiological stability of VCO based on TPC values and to determine the storage time limit that still meets microbiological standards. The method used in this study was to treat VCO in dark glass bottles under closed conditions at storage temperatures of 28ºC, 40ºC, and 50ºC. TPC analysis was performed to measure the number of bacterial colonies growing in the samples and was used to assess freshness and potential microbial contamination. Increased storage temperature causes the rate of TPC increase to slow down, thereby inhibiting the growth of microorganisms in VCO and improving its microbiological stability at high temperatures. VCO in sealed dark glass bottles still meets the maximum TPC limit according to SNI and APCC standards for up to 9.35 years at 28°C, 16.24 years at 40°C, and 24.93 years at 50°C, with differences in shelf life influenced by the slower rate of TPC increase at high temperatures.