Fruit and grape juices in bulk containers Pt5
Since there is more interesting information regarding the commercial food acidification processes, I decided to reproduce this picture on this page and to add more material.
It was, of course, possible to have everything on the previous page, but I would either have to omit some good keywords or to run a risk of having the page rank downgraded because of a perception of a keyword spam.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are known for their health benefits.
In addition to fresh fruits, some people supplement their diets with processed fruit products.
It could be a matter of getting extra variety of tastes and products, or it could be a simple necessity, when people are under the conditions, where fresh fruits and vegetables or fresh juices cannot realistically be made available.
The most obvious examples are people who are stationed or working in remote areas, troops deployed in operational areas, crews of naval and merchant vessels.
Food industry produces a great variety of fruit products in the form of beverages, canned fruits and vegetables, sauces, fillings, dips, spreads, dressings and so on.
Obviously, these types of products can only be successfully marketed if they remain stable for at least several days, preferably several weeks after container is opened.
It is a common knowledge that food products deteriorate with time - food loses flavor, gets brown, darkens, grows yeast and mold.
And, of course, if food does not have an appealing look or taste, then it cannot gain consumer acceptance.
Food industry had developed many methods designed to inhibit the deterioration of food products made from fruits or vegetables. Among them are pasteurization, high vacuum processing for removing oxygen, and chemically treating the fruit with sulfiting agents before making the food product.
These methods allow to produce microbiologically resistant product, which has no substantial flavor loss and on which no mold, yeast or bacteria grow in any perceptible amounts during the specified time after opening the container.
Contemporary food processing methods used in preservation of fruit products involve acidifying in a mixing vessel.
The amount of acid (acidulant) employed is selected to produce the resulting acidified fruit composition in the Ph range between 3.5 to 3.8, which is mildly acidic.
In addition to that, terminal unsaturated ester is added to the mixture in the amounts between 5 and 20 ppm.
Among the acidulants, which are used in this processing method are acetic acid (vinegar), hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, lactic acid, malic acid or their mixtures.
The amounts of acid employed are in the range of about 1 to 1.6 percent of the weight of the fruit mixture.
This preparation results in a product which is reasonably stable for several weeks, even after the container is opened.
Additional substances, which may be added during food processing are oils, emulsifiers, thickeners, external protein sources, sweeteners, including artificial sweeteners, flavouring agents, including artificial flavours, as well as colouring agents, including artificial colours.
Fat substitutes may also be used, among them fatty acid-esterified alkoxylated glycerin compositions and sucrose fatty acid esters.
Among the emulsifiers, which are used for commercial preparation of fruit-based products are PEG 20 tristearate, PEG 20 trioleate, PEG 20 monostearate, PEG 20 monooleate, PEG 20 monopalmitate and PEG 20 monolaurate sorbitan, nonionic copolymers of ethylene oxide, nonionic copolymers of propylene 20 oxide, monoglycerides and diglycerides, polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), polysorbate 60 as well as their derivatives and mixtures.
Among thickeners, which can be used in commercial preparation of fruit-based produts are cellulose, locust bean, xanthan, carrageenan, guar gum, pectin or their mixtures.
Among the external protein sources the following substances are commonly used: caseinate, whey, fractionated milk proteins, and skimmed milk powder.
The following sweeteners are used in preparation of ready-to-eat fruit and vegetable products - syrups, sucrose, glucose, saccharin, aspartame, dextrose, lactose, levelose, maltose, fructose and their mixtures.
Frozen orange juice concentrate from Brazil
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