Inactivation of the microbiota and effect on the quality attributes of pineapple juice using a continuous flow ultrasound-assisted supercritical carbon dioxide system

• Published in: Food science and technology international 2018-10, Vol.24 (7), p.547-554
• Main Authors: Paniagua-Martínez, I, Mulet, A, García-Alvarado, MA, Benedito, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ananas - microbiology; Ascorbic Acid - analysis; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Carbon Dioxide; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid - instrumentation; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid - methods; Colony Count, Microbial; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Food Microbiology - methods; Food Preservation - methods; Food Quality; Fruit and Vegetable Juices - analysis; Fruit and Vegetable Juices - microbiology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Microbial Viability; Pasteurization - instrumentation; Pasteurization - methods; Refrigeration; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - isolation & purification; Ultrasonics
• ISSN: 1082-0132; 1532-1738
• DOI: 10.1177/1082013218774694

Supercritical carbon dioxide inactivation technology represents a promising nonthermal processing method, as it causes minimum impact on the nutritional food properties. The aim of this study was to analyze the combined effect of supercritical carbon dioxide and high-power ultrasound on the inactivation of natural microbiota and the quality attributes of pineapple juice treated in a continuous flow system. Different juice residence times (3.06–4.6 min), at 100 bar and 31.5 ℃, were used. The results indicated that the microbiota inactivation was complete and the differences obtained in the quality attributes (2.2% for pH, 4.8% for °Brix, 2% for vitamin C) were minimal. During storage, microorganisms were not able to recover and the vitamin C decrease could be limited to 8.2% after four weeks. The results demonstrated that the supercritical carbon dioxide–high-power ultrasound technique could be an excellent alternative for the cold pasteurization of pineapple juice.