MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF INDUSTRIALLY PROCESSED ORANGE FRUIT JUICES
INTRODUCTION
Fruit juices are very nourishing, energizing, and a popular non-alcoholic beverage all over the world. Fruits can either be squeezed to extract juice or juice can be extracted using water. You can use these juices processed or in their natural concentrations. They are very tasty and palatable and contain the majority of the minerals—such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium—as well as vitamins, particularly vitamin C, that are essential for growth and development (Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 1999). However, these processed juices must adhere to sanitary standards and are primarily made of water, sugar, preservatives, colorants, and fruit pulps (Doyleet al., 2001). The three preservatives that are most frequently used are sulphur dioxide, sorbic acid, and benzoic acid (Nahar et al., 2006). Natural pigments like anthocyanins
as well as betanin (Wareing and Dvenport, 2005). Acid is a component of every fruit beverage’s universal composition (Renard, 2008). The acid that is used the most is citric acid.
Fruits are typically covered in a microflora during harvest and postharvest processing, which includes transport, storage, and processing. Fruit juices contain this microflora (Tournaset al., 2006). They serve as a substrate for the growth of numerous microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi (molds, yeasts), which can withstand acidity. Because of their acidic pH, yeasts make up the majority of the fruit flora before processing. Candida, Dekkera, Hanseniaspora, Pichia, Saccharomyces, and Zygosaccharomyces are some of the major genera. The filamentous fungi that are most frequently isolated from fresh fruits and juices include Penicillium, Byssochlamys, Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, Mucor, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Botrytis, Talaromyces, and Neosartorya.