Abstract:

“Olinda” Valencia orange juice was stored for 6 months in a container filled with N2 or CO2 to 0.2 or 0.4 MPa at 15 ℃. Quality changes of four“ Olinda” valencia orange juice samples (sample P-1: N2, 0.4 MPa; sample P-2: CO2, 0.4 MPa; sample P-3: N2, 0.2 MPa; and sample P-4: CO2, 0.2 MPa) during the storage were investigated. A slight increase of L* value was observed in all the samples while the a* and b* values decreased dramatically. An obvious inhibition was found in color difference of the two orange juice samples stored under 0.4 MPa when compared to the control sample stored hermetically in a PET bottle at –5 ℃. Over 97% of soluble solids were preserved in the orange juice samples and the total bacterial count showed a changing trend of first increase and then decrease and the loss of vitamin C was less than 6 mg/100 g during the storage, which was the least in the sample P-1. The content of major aroma components in the sample P-1 was 1001 μg/ml. In general, the original quality and flavor of the orange juice can be preserved when stored under N2 or CO2 pressure environment.

Key words: filling, N2, CO2, ＂Olinda ＂valencia orange juice, quality