Fatty acid profile changes during orange juice‐milk beverage processing by high‐pulsed electric field

Abstract

AbstractHigh‐intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF) is an emerging non‐thermal food preservation technology which has the potential to pasteurize pumpable liquid foods. Its application is being studied to evaluate it as potential alternative or complementary process to thermal pasteurization. Orange juice‐milk beverage with added bioactive components is a ready‐to‐drink beverage developed as an alternative to traditional soft drinks. In the present work, two HIPEF treatments (35 and 40 kV/cm) and six different treatment times (from 40 to 180 µs) were evaluated to assess their effect on the fatty acid profile of an orange juice‐milk beverage fortified with n‐3 fatty acids and oleic acid. The effect of HIPEF treatment on various physicochemical properties of the beverages: pH, °Brix, hydroxymethylfurfural or peroxide index was also determined. After HIPEF treatment, non‐significant changes in the contents of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids or polyunsaturated fatty acids were observed. Neither peroxides nor intolerable levels of furfurals were detected. Only a small reduction in fat content (p <0.05) was found. In conclusion, HIPEF can be proposed as an alternative preservation technology due to these minimal changes which are negligible from the nutritional point of view.