A multidimensional evaluation of the effects of sweetener selection and UV-C treatment on orange juice and pectin-based confectionery gels.

BACKGROUND: Consumers are seeking healthier alternatives to traditional confectioneries. They value the use of sugar replacers, more natural ingredients and/or environmentally friendly preservation technologies. UV-C light is considered an emerging alternative to thermal pasteurization that leaves no residue and requires minimal energy. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of novel sweetener combinations and juice UV-C assisted by mild heat treatment (UV-C/H) on the physicochemical, microbiological, morphological, rheological and sensory properties of orange juice pectin-based confectioneries stored at 5 ± 1 °C for 35 days. RESULTS: For orange juice processing, UV-C/H (pilot-scale Dean-flow reactor; 892 mJ cm-2 ; 50 ± 1 °C) and thermal (T-coil, 80 °C; 6 min) treatments were used. Low-calorie confectionery gels were elaborated using the treated juices, low-methoxyl pectin and various sweetener combinations. UV-C/H and T-coil effectively inactivated juice native microbiota. The proposed formulations, derived from a previous Box-Behnken optimization study, included partial (F1: 3%-sucrose-S + 0.019%-rebaudioside-A-RA) or complete sucrose replacement (F2: 5.5%-erythritol-E + 0.019%-RA), and one control (C:10%-S). In general, the microbiota of the gels prepared with the UV-C/H or T-coil treated juices did not recover during storage. The physicochemical and mechanical parameters of the formulations were significantly influenced by the choice of sweetener and the duration of storage. The gel surface got smoother and had fewer holes when the sucrose level dropped, according to a scanning electron microscopy study. The UV-C/H-treated samples did not differ in acceptability, whereas the measured sensory attributes approached ideal levels. F1 and F2 showed distinctive temporal-dominance-of-sensations profiles, mainly dominated by sweetness and orange taste, respectively. However, consumers perceived sourness and astringency in C during consumption. CONCLUSION: The present study provides significant evidence in support of the development of confectionery gels F1 and F2 made from fruit juice treated by UV-C light assisted by mild heat and combinations of sucrose-alternative sweeteners. In terms of the properties investigated, these confectionery gels were comparable to, or even outperformed the full-sucrose option. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of pilot-scale UV-C light treatment assisted by mild heat on E. coli, L. plantarum and S. cerevisiae inactivation in clear and turbid fruit juices. Storage study of surviving populations.

Consumer growing demands for high-quality and safe food and beverages have stimulated the interest in alternative preservation technologies. Short-wavelength ultraviolet light (UV-C, 254 nm) has proven to be useful for the decontamination of a great variety of clear juices while improving their quality compared to traditional thermal treatments. Suspended solids and coloured compounds in turbid juices, diminish light transmission. The use of UV-C under a hurdle approach, may be a promising strategy for their treatment. The purpose of this study was to analyse Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Saccharomyces cerevisiae KE 162 and Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 inactivation in clear pear juice (PJ), turbid orange-tangerine (OT) and orange-banana-mango-kiwi-strawberry (OBMKS) juices processed by single UV-C (390 mJ/cm2, 20 °C) and UV-C assisted by mild heat (UV-C/H, 50 °C) at pilot-scale in a coiled tubing unit and stored under refrigeration (5 °C). Inactivation studies were also conducted in peptone water (PW) and model solution (MS). The adequacy of the Coroller, Weibull and Biphasic Plus Shoulder models was studied. UV-C was highly effective in PW, MS and PJ, achieving up to 5.5-6.3-4.7, 4.8-5.1-4.6 and 4.4-5.5 log reductions for L. plantarum, E. coli,and S. cerevisiae, respectively. Whereas, a moderate inactivation by single UV-C was recorded in the turbid blends, reducing up to 2.4-3.8-1.6 and 3.6-3.7-1.3 log-cycles in OT and OBMKS, respectively. When the UV-C/H treatment was applied, high bacterial inactivation was observed achieving 5.2-5.6, 6.3-6.6 and 5.5-6.7 log reductions in OT, OBMKS and PJ, respectively, while 4.6-4.9 log reductions were determined for the yeast in OBMKS and OT, respectively. Thus, additive inactivation effects between UV-C and H were observed. All the models tested gave useful information regarding the existence of microbial subpopulations with varying resistances. However, the cumulative Weibull distribution function was the most versatile one, fitting inactivation curves with different shapes. Additionally, the frequency distributions of resistances showed that UV-C/H not only increased the UV-C microbicidal effect but changed the distribution of inactivation times. Principal component analysis revealed that UV-C effectiveness was associated to low particle size, a⃰, turbidity and high UV-C transmittance. An increase on the inactivation of treated bacterial populations was recorded along storage, while no yeast recovery was observed, thus emphasizing the contribution of refrigerated storage to microbial inactivation. Microbial inactivation in clear and turbid juices achieved by UV-C (390 mJ/cm2) assisted by mild heat (50 °C) and subsequent refrigerated storage may represent an useful alternative for multiple applications in the juice industry.