Quality Changes of Aseptically Packed Apple Juice During Storage and the Prediction of Its Shelf-Life

Abstract

The effects of storage time and temperature on the quality of aseptically-packed single-strength apple juice were investigated by estimating the changes of sensory characters and chemical components. The concentrations of 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural and furfural increased with storage temperature and time, the rate of formation followed zero order kinetics with activation energies of 25.49 and 14.94 Kcal/mol, respectively. The Hunter L, a, b values did not change significantly when stored at low temperatures, i.e. 4, 20 °C. The Hunter L value decreased while the Hunter a value and absorbance at 420nm increased along with storage time when stored at 37 °C. The concentration of sucrose decreased along with storage time when stored at 37 °C, while the concentrations of glucose and fructose increased. Storage time exhibited a significant effect on the reduction of malic acid; however, tartaric acid did not change. Sensory scores decreased during storage and changes in the scores of samples stored at 37 °C were greater than those under other storage temperatures. The Q10 values of flavor scores of samples stored at 4-14 °C, 14-24 °C, and 25-35 °C were 1.652, 1.597, and 1.549 accordingly. The predicted shelf-life of aseptically packed apple juice stored at 37 °C, 25 °C, 20 °C, and 4 °C was 30.8, 52.0, 68.2, and 161.4 weeks, respectively.