Effect of high pressure CO2 and mild heat processing on natural microorganisms in apple juice.

Apple juice was pasteurized by high pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) at 20MPa with CO(2) concentration of 4.5-5.3% and mild heat (MH) at atmospheric pressure. Microbial inactivation and stability of natural microorganisms in apple juice were investigated. The temperatures were 37, 42, 47, 52, 57 and 62 degrees C, treatment time was 30min, and storage temperatures of pasteurized apple juice were 2 and 28 degrees C. The aerobic bacteria (AB) treated by MH at 62 degrees C and by HPCD at > or =52 degrees C were almost totally inactivated, the microbial counts were<10CFU/mL. The yeasts and moulds (Y&M) treated by MH at > or =57 degrees C and by HPCD at > or =42 degrees C were totally inactivated. HPCD increased the susceptibility of these natural microorganisms to temperature and enhanced their microbial inactivation. The AB in apple juice treated by HPCD at > or =52 degrees C and the Y&M treated by HPCD at > or =57 degrees C, the AB and the Y&M treated by MH at 62 degrees C showed a better stability during storage at 2 and 28 degrees C, but apple juice treated by HPCD at < or =47 degrees C was characterized with high microbial counts of the AB> or =2.75x10(3)CFU/ml. A viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state of the Y&M treated by MH at 57 degrees C and by HPCD at 42, 47 and 52 degrees C was observed during storage at 28 degrees C. Apparently the proper temperature of HPCD treatment of apple juice at 20MPa and stored at 2 and 28 degrees C was greater than or equal to 52 degrees C, while for MH treatment the proper temperature increased to 62 degrees C in this study. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.