Effect of pulp reduction and pasteurization on the release of aroma compounds in industrial orange juice.

Release of aroma compounds in orange juice according to pulp content and pasteurization was performed by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME), HS-SPME-GC-olfactometry, and by the determination of partition coefficients of aroma compounds between the juice and the headspace. Orange juices with 12% and 6% pulp contents were collected from a processing line before and after pasteurization. HS-SPME revealed that the 6% pulp juice was the most affected by pasteurization, with an increase in the release of several aroma compounds that are generated by heat treatment (that is, alpha- and beta-terpinéol) and a decrease in the release of compounds sensitive to pasteurization (that is, neral and geranial). Principal component analysis of olfactometric data allowed discriminating fresh and pasteurized juices, regardless of the pulp content. The determination of the gas/liquid partition coefficients by the phase ratio variation method was possible for 7 aroma compounds. For the most hydrophobic ones, the release of aroma compounds in fresh juices was higher in the 6% pulp juice than in the 12% pulp juice. However, in pasteurized juices, the difference between their partition coefficients was less marked. Potential interactions between cloud proteins and hydrophobic aroma compounds may explain this phenomenon.

Evolution of aroma compounds from orange juice stored in polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The evolution of aroma compounds from orange juice made from concentrate and stored in glass, standard monolayer polyethylene terephthalate (PET 1), multilayer PET (PET 2) and plasma-treated PET (internal carbon coating) (PET 3) was investigated. Bottles were stored at room temperature (20 degrees C) under artificial light. Volatile compounds in orange juice samples and corresponding packaging materials were analysed at zero time and after 2, 3 and 5 months of storage. After 5 months of storage, from 0.2 to 0.3% of the initial amounts of limonene and beta-myrcene in the orange juice had been absorbed by the plastic packaging materials. Statistical analyses showed that the evolution of aroma compounds was strongly correlated to the duration of storage, but not to the type of packaging material. Indeed, whatever the stored orange juice samples, the same evolutions were observed, with a decrease in aldehydes and ketones, esters, aliphatic alcohols, sesquiterpene and monoterpene alcohols, and an increase in two aliphatic and monoterpene alcohols (i.e. furfural and 4-vinylguaicol). The results suggest that the losses of aroma compounds from the juice could be attributed to the high acidity of the matrix, implying acid-catalysed reactions. Finally, PET packaging materials and their corresponding oxygen permeabilities showed no correlation with the loss of aroma compounds.