Abstract
This study was undertaken to evaluate a pilot plant designed for sugarcane juice processing. The juice was extracted in an electric mill and acidified with citric acid until the pH of 4.3. Next, it was pasteurized in a plate heat exchanger at 95°C/30 sec, cooled to 10°C before being filled into a plastic bottle and induction sealed. Product filling was performed in an ISO class 5 unidirectional air-flow cabins. Three batches of acidified sugarcane juice were produced. The qualities of the raw material, rinse water of the processing and filling line, packaging and end product were all microbiologically evaluated. Hedonic scale tests were used to evaluate the sensory acceptance of the product. The total mean counts in mesophilic culture of molds and yeasts from the natural, fresh sugarcane juice were (6.26 and 5.20) log CFU/mL, respectively. These mean counts, in both rinse water samples of the processing line and the bottles, were lower than 1 log CFU/mL. The mean counts of molds and yeasts in acidified and pasteurized sugarcane juice were (2.63 and lower than 1) log CFU/mL, respectively. The findings indicated that the procedures that were evaluated met standards for acidified sugarcane juice to be produced then stored under refrigeration.
Highlights
The demand for the production of safe high quality food, which has both the sensory and nutritional characteristics similar to the raw material used and extended shelf life, is ever growing in the national market
This concept differs from the Critical Control Points (CCP), which is controlled by the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system
The samples of the fresh juice were submitted to the total counting of aerobic mesophilics in Plate Count Agar (PCA) and molds and yeasts in Potato Dextrose Agar with chloramphenicol (PDA-c), in accordance with the methodology described in the Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Foods, APHA [9]
Summary
The demand for the production of safe high quality food, which has both the sensory and nutritional characteristics similar to the raw material used and extended shelf life, is ever growing in the national market. Some products, such as sugarcane juice, which is largely consumed in an informal marketplace, are frequently offered and sold in hygienic and sanitary conditions that are precarious at best. Standard procedures of operational hygiene were implemented to produce a drink that is safe and maintains an elevated sensory quality
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