76C-3 |
Effect of pasteurization regimes on orange juice flavor |
R. M. GOODRICH, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Univ. of Florida, Citrus Research & Education Ctr., 700 Experiment Station Rd., Lake Alfred, FL 33850 and D. M. Greer, Pasco Beverage Co., Inc., PO Box 97, Dade City, FL 33526-0097. Domestic not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice is produced primarily in Florida. The citrus processing season runs from approximately November to June, and the juice is typically stored until packaging in refrigerated aseptic tanks. As the juice is essentially aseptic during storage, it is theoretically possible to transfer the juice in a very sanitary manner to the final consumer package without additional heat treatment.
This study was designed to compare the use of aseptic transfer on flavor to current industrial practice, which involves pasteurization immediately prior to packaging.
Unpasteurized NFC orange juice (Hamlin and Valencia) was obtained from a citrus processor in Florida. In each experiment, the juice was pasteurized at typical conditions (98.8°C/6 s hold). A portion of the juice was repasteurized at slightly milder conditions (82.2°C/6 s hold). All juice was packaged in gable-top containers and evaluated over the standard refrigerated juice shelf life (9 weeks).
No difference in flavor in the Hamlin samples was found between treatments (pasteurized once and twice) for two weeks. At week 3, there was a significant difference between treatments in the flavor of the juice, with the single pasteurization treatment preferred. This trend continued until week 9, when there was again no significant difference in flavor between the Hamlin juices. The data was similar for the Valencia juice runs. The Vitamin C and color of the double pasteurized juices was significantly less than that of the single pasteurized juices at several evaluation points.
These results suggest the additional food safety and spoilage hurdle of double juice pasteurization may not have a significant effect upon juice flavor. However, this treatment could significantly impact amount of Vitamin C added to make label claims and the USDA overall score of the juice.
Session 76C, Citrus: General
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