Color change of orange and carrot juice blend treated by non‐thermal atmospheric plasma

Abstract

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) atmospheric plasma treatment is an innovative non-thermal food processing technology. There is an abundant body of research on the effectiveness in inactivation of foodborne pathogens on fresh fruit and vegetable produce with atmospheric air DBD plasma. However, studies that disclose plasma interactions with fruit or vegetable juices are scarce in number to the knowledge of the author. Color changes of orange and carrot juice blend due to atmospheric air DBD plasma treatment have been examined to estimate the extent of juice changes after treatments at varying durations of 5 s,15 s, and 30 s. Results indicate potentiality of cloud loss reduction, while treatments can cause minor degradation of color attributes. However, browning of treated samples was not observed. The influence of this new non-thermal treatment on measured properties of orange and carrot juice blend shows promising results which need to be further confirmed and established. Practical applications The work described in this research offers an innovative treatment of orange and carrot juice blend with atmospheric air DBD plasma. This article assesses the suitability of atmospheric air DBD plasma to be used in orange and carrot juice blend, and its effects on color attributes. The results indicate the potential of treatment as a browning inhibitor in orange and carrot juice blend during processing which could be of practical industrial relevance.