Sugarcane juice pasteurization: A search for the most effective parameters

Abstract

Sugarcane juice is a commodity in tropical countries as it provides health benefits; it is a nutritious, inexpensive, and refreshing drink, which helps keep the body healthy. However, the development of suitable preservation technologies is imperative to enhance its shelf life (Kaavya, Pandiselvam, Kothakota, Priya, & Prasath, 2019). Cane juice contains 80% water on average; its soluble solids content may range from 15 to 25 °Brix, pH between 5.0 and 6.0, titratable acidity between 0.04 and 0.12 (% citric acid) and water activity 0.99. The climate, soil, cultivar, and maturity of the raw material significantly affects the physicochemical properties of juice (Bomdespacho, da Silva, Lapa-Guimaraes, Ditchfield, & Petrus, 2018). The juice fermentation starts rapidly after extraction (Qudsieh, Yusof, Osman, & Rahman, 2002). Due to spoilage-causing microorganisms and enzymatic reactions, the fresh juice develops a brown color and tastes sour within a few hours after extraction when not stored appropriately (Yusof, Shian, & Osman, 2000). Many attempts have been made in the overall stabilization of sugarcane juice, and pasteurization may successfully be used in this product's preservation. Notwithstanding, to the best of our knowledge, no study addressing the optimization of time × temperature binomial has been reported. Knowledge of these parameters is crucial to the emerging cane juice processing industry. Mao, Xu, and Que (2007) stated that the development of effective treatment procedures that preserve the fresh quality of cane juice would allow it to be more widely marketed and also enhance