New
technology could increase juice safety
By Jane Byrne, 13-Nov-2008
Source of Article: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety/New-technology-could-increase-juice-safety A
combination of sonication and osmotic evaporation
represents a promising new technology that could be designed to athermally produce safe, concentrated fruit juices,
claims a new study.
The results derived
from the research were published in the Journal of Food Safety and
indicate that combining sonication with osmotic pressure during storage of
concentrated orange juice
provides a way of achieving a 5 log reduction of Salmonella spp. The authors have
termed the technology designed to athermally
process fruit juices as ‘osmosonication’, and claim
that besides the nutritional and sensory benefits provided by athermal processes, final products would also be safe for
the consumer. Desire for natural Consumers are
increasingly seeking natural products that have been minimally processed in
order to avoid destruction or partial removal of the health promoting
substances present in fruits, according to the study. However, the authors
state that consumption of minimally processed fruit juices has increased the
number of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses in
recent years, with orange juice frequently identified as the vehicle of
transmission in several of these outbreaks, many of them related to Salmonella
species. The authors said the
aim of their research was to evaluate the effect of osmotic pressure alone,
or combined with the application of sonication, on
the reduction of Salmonella spp. in concentrated orange juice. Osmotic pressure The researchers
explained that an osmotic pressure of 12.6 MPa, low
pH and a 24 hour storage period, when combined, appear to significantly
reduce the Salmonella population in the juice by almost 2.7 log cfu/mL. “However, the 5 log
reduction goal normally targeted by food industries was not achieved and
therefore additional treatments, alone or combined, must be implemented to
guarantee food safety of the athermally processed
juice,”
said the scientists. Combination effect The researchers said
that, in contrast, sonication combined with an
increase in osmotic pressure strongly affects the survival of Samonella spp. in orange juice after at
least 24 hours of storage. “By quickly
concentrating a juice to reach the osmotic pressure of 12.6 MPa, while applying sonication
for one hour, a 5 log cfu/mL reduction of
Salmonella spp. can be reached between 24 and 168 hours of storage, which is
a promising result,” claim the authors. The researchers said
that based on the positive results of their study there is a need to design
equipment and optimise operating parameters including in-line sonication times and flow rates in order to advance this
new technology. Source: Journal of
Food Safety |
Copyright (C) All rights reserved under FoodHACCP.com
If you have any comments, please send your email to info@foodhaccp.com
