PRESERVATION OF FRESH FRUIT JUICES AND FRUIT JUICE BLENDS

• Main Authors: POWRIE, WILLIAM D, WU, CHIU H
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 21.01.2003
• Edition: 5
• Subjects: FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BYSUBCLASSES A23B - A23J; HUMAN NECESSITIES; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OFNUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; THEIR TREATMENT, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES

This invention pertains to a novel process for preserving the quality attributes and ascorbic acid content of fresh fruit juices and fruit juice blends. The process involves sanitizing the outer surface of a fruit, extract- ing the juice from the edible portion of the fruit, gasify- ing the juice with an oxygen-containing, carbon dioxide- containing gas mixture, filling a high gas-barrier con- tainer with the juice; hermetically sealing the container and rapidly cooling the juice in the container. Alterna- tively, the extracted juice may be filled into the high gas barrier container and then gasified prior to hermetically sealing the container.