Thesis (Msc Food Sc (Food Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Fruit juices were until recently considered to only be susceptible to spoilage by yeasts, mycelial fungi and lactic acid bacteria. Spoilage by these organisms was prevented by the acidic pH of fruit juices and the heat-treatment applied during the hot-fill-hold process. Despite these control measures, an increasing number of spoilage cases of fruit juices, fruit juice products and acidic vegetables due to contamination by thermophilic acidophilic bacteria (TAB) have been reported. The genus Alicyclobacillus, containing TAB were first classified as Bacillus, but were reclassified in 1992. Species of Alicyclobacillus are Gram-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacteria. The unique characteristic of these organisms is the presence of ω-alicyclic fatty acids, such as ω-cyclohexane and ω-cycloheptane, as the major components of the cellular membrane. This organism has been shown to survive pasteurisation conditions of 95°C for 2 min and grows within a pH range of 2.5 to 6.0 and temperatures between 25° and 60°C. The genus currently consists of 11 species, with A. acidoterrestris, A. acidocaldarius and A. pomorum being the only species associated with the spoilage of fruit juices and fruit juice products. The aim of this study was to evaluate culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches for the detection and isolation of Alicyclobacillus spp. from pasteurised South African fruit juices and concentrates. The culture-dependent approach was evaluated by comparing five different growth media, for growth and recovery of A. acidoterrestris, A. acidocaldarius and A. pomorum at different incubation temperatures, from sterile saline solution (SSS) (0.85% (m/v) NaCl), diluted and undiluted fruit juice concentrates. The five media evaluated included potato dextrose agar (PDA), orange serum agar (OSA), K-agar, yeast extract (YSG)-agar and Bacillus acidocaldarius medium (BAM). The culture-independent approach was used to identify the micro-organisms present in fruit juices and concentrates from different South African manufacturers before and after pasteurisation, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing. Spread plates of PDA at pH 3.7 and incubation temperature of 50°C for 3 days was found to be the best isolation media for species of Alicyclobacillus from fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate. With the inclusion of a heat shock treatment at 80°C for 10 min the growth media of preference for spores of Alicyclobacillus from fruit juice concentrates was OSA at pH 5.5 and an incubation temperature of 50°C for 3 days. The culture-dependent approach could detect cells or endospores at a minimum concentration of 104 cfu.ml-1 in SSS and diluted fruit juices. PCR-based DGGE analysis was more sensitive and detected cells of Alicyclobacillus spp. from fruit juices and concentrates at a minimum concentration of 103 cfu.ml-1. Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris was found to be present in South African apple juice, pear juice, white grape juice and aloe vera juice. White grape juice was also found to contain A. pomorum. Other organisms present in the orange, apple, mango and pear juices were two uncultured bacteria that were identified as members of the genus Bacillus, and one uncultured bacterium closely related to Alcaligenus faecalis. This study confirmed the presence of TAB in pasteurised South African fruit juices and concentrates and emphasises the need for the rapid and accurate detection of TAB in food products.

Heat treated orange juice, both pasteurized and concentrate, are being increasingly consumed in the U.S. Orange juice is primarily heat treated to increase its shelf life, by curbing the growth of microorganisms; and to inactivate pectin methylesterase, which demethylates pectin and leads to cloud loss in the juice. However, because of heat processing, orange juice undergoes undesirable flavor changes that decrease its acceptability to consumers. The objectives of this study were to differentiate between fresh frozen and heat treated orange juice employing descriptive analysis, and to determine by Osme, a gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO) method, odor active volatiles that were either lacking or created in the heat treated juice. The second objective was to determine how changes in the odor-active volatile profile of heat treated orange juice, relates to changes in the aroma and flavor intensities of the samples as assessed by descriptive analysis. Through descriptive analysis, the panel was successful in significantly (p<0.05) separating the fresh, pasteurized, and concentrate samples. Orange, orange peel, sweet, and grassy descriptors were found to be important for fresh aroma and flavor, while cooked, yam, metallic, tamarind, green bean and artificial orange descriptors were higher in heat treated samples. Using Osme, it was possible to separate fresh frozen from heat treated orange juice, on the basis of their aroma profiles. Fresh frozen samples show a higher concentration of peaks tentatively identified as gamma-butyrolactone, citral, nonanal, carvone, perillaldehyde, carvyl propinate, valencene, and other unidentified peaks possessing descriptors such as floral, lime, citrus, pine, bamboo leaf, metallic, and vinyl. Pasteurized samples show a larger concentration of peaks tentatively identified as hexanol, octanol, nerol / carveol, myrcene, 2-octanone, p-cymene, terpenen-4-ol, betacitronellol, and other unidentified peaks with descriptors such as cilantro, vinyl, melon, mushroom, and metallic. Descriptors such as orange, orange peel, sweet, grapefruit, and grassy are more pronounced in the fresh samples and are similar to the odor descriptors of Osme peaks higher in the fresh samples. Descriptors such as cooked, artificial orange, yam, metallic, tamarind, and green bean are higher in the pasteurized samples, and are similar to the odor descriptors of peaks higher in these samples. / Graduation date: 1999

Thermal processing is the primary mode of preservation of mango products, which can be considerably damaging to the delicate quality of mango. HP processing could thus be a potential alternative for extending the shelf-life of mango products. Establishing HP processing technology need data on microbial inactivation kinetics and shelf-life study of the product. The objective of this research was therefore to evaluate the application of HP treatment for inactivation of microorganisms (pathogenic and spoilage type) and to evaluate the shelf-life of HP treated mango juice. / HP destruction kinetics of three common spoilage microorganisms, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Zygosaccharomyces bailii and Pichia membranaefaciens and two pathogenic microorganisms, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, were evaluated at 250-550 MPa with 0-60 min holding time at room temperature with species specific initial counts between 10 6 to 108 CFU/mL.

The influence of cultivar and maturity on polyphenolic composition and antioxidant activity was investigated by UV-Visible spectrophotometry and analytical high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in commercially important blackberry cultivars and selections. The anthocyanin pigments changed tremendously with ripening. Total anthocyanins increased from 74.7-317 mg/100g fw from underripe to over ripe for 'Marion', and from 69.9-164 mg/100g fw for 'Evergreen'. Total phenolics did not show marked change with maturity with values slightly decreasing from underripe to ripe. Antioxidant activities, while increasing with ripening, did not show the noticeable change that total anthocyanins exhibited. The total phenolic and total anthocyanin contents varied greatly among 11 cultivars. Total anthocyanins ranged from 131-256 mg/100g fw (mean = 198), total phenolics from 682-1056 mg GAE/100g fw (mean = 900), ORAC from 37.6-75.5 μmolTE/g fw (mean = 50.2), and FRAP ranged from 63.5- 91.5 μmolTE/g fw (mean = 77.5). Four blackberry cultivars were found to be higher in total anthocyanins and total phenolics than 'Marion' and 'Evergreen', the predominant commercial cultivars in the Pacific Northwest. The results from these studies confirmed that blackberries are a good source of natural antioxidants and colorant, and demonstrated the potential for obtaining new cultivars with high pigment/phenolic content through classical plant breeding. The investigation on the incidence of haze and sediment formation revealed that the sediment in the commercial reconstituted 'Evergreen' blackberry (CRE) juice was composed of ellagic acid, protein, and unidentified compounds. The qualitative tannin and protein-tannin haze test indicated that the sediment was predominantly tannin or protein-tannin complexes. Nitrogen determination showed the sediment to be 6.69 ± 2.21% (w/w) protein on a dry weight basis. Almost all of the extractable material was identified as ellagic acid by HPLC and LC-MS. The ellagic acid content of the wet sediment was 0.05 g/100g while it was 7.41 g/100g in freeze-dried sediment. Tannase enzyme did not significantly decrease the concentration of ellagitannins in 'Marion' blackberry juice in this study. / Graduation date: 2004

Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (M.Sc. (Food and Nutrition for Development))--Mahidol University, 2007.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M. Sc.)(Consumer science)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Orientador: Vânia Regina Nicoletti Telis / Banca: Luis Alexandre Pedro de Freitas / Banca: Célia Maria Landi Franco / Resumo: A encapsulação de sucos concentrados de limão e maracujá pelo processo de co-cristalização com sacarose foi avaliada pela determinação de propriedades físicas e fisico-químicas dos produtos obtidos. O processo de co-cristalização foi conduzido a partir da concentração de um xarope de sacarose até a supersaturação, quando então era adicionado o material a ser encapsulado. A partir daí, a mistura era submetida a uma intensa agitação que induzia à nucleação e à aglomeração do produto. O objetivo principal do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da produção de suco adicionada e do pH do suco sobre a umidade, solubilidade, densidade aparente e ângulo de repouso dos produtos obtidos. Também foram estudados o comportamento higroscópico e a cinética de degradação de vitamina C do material encapsulado, em função das variáveis citadas acima. Finalmente, pelo uso da calorimetria diferencial de varredura, foram obtidas informações a respeito da influência da proporção de suco e do pH sobre as transições de fase observadas e sobre a microestrutura dos produtos co-cristalizados. Os produtos obtidos apresentaram menores umidades em menores proporções de sucos e pHs e as densidades resultaram na faixa em que se encontram a maioria dos pós alimentícios. O tempo de solubilização foi menor em maiores proporções de suco e baixos pHs. Os ângulos de repouso dos produtos foram satisfatórios se comparados com a faixa em que se encontram os pós da matriz encapsulante. Os materiais menos hidroscópicos foram os preparados com menor quantidade de suco e em menores pHs. A degradação de vitamina C durante a armazenagem foi menos acentuada em baixas proporções de suco e em menores pHs, tendo o suco de maracujá... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Encapsulation of concentrated lemon and passion fruit juices by co-crystallization with sucrose was studied by determining physical and physicochemical properties of the obtained products. The co-crystallization was carried out by concentrating a sucrose syrup until supersaturation and, then, adding the core material. The mixture was submitted to an intensive mixing, which induced nucleation and product agglomeration. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of the added proportion of juice and juice pH on moisture, solubility, apparent density, and repose angle of co-crystallized products. The hygroscopic behavior and ascorbic acid degradation of the encapsulated material as affected by the above variables were also studied. The product microstructure was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and polarized light microscopy. Lower moisture was obtained with lower juice proportions and lower pHþs, and apparent densities resulted in the range of the majority of food powders. Solubility increased with higher juice proportion and lower pHþs, whereas repose angles were similar to those of the encapsulating matrix. Less hygroscopic materials were obtained with lower juice proportion and lower pHþs. The passion fruit product presented lower rates of vitamin C degradation and degradation rates decreased with decreasing juice proportions and pHþs. The DSC thermograms and polarized light micrographs showed that the encapsulating matrix and the co-crystallized products were in the crystalline state. / Mestre

The deuterium content of sugar in fruits is influenced mainly by two factors – the botanical and also the geographical origin of the fruit. The information of the fruit origin is kept even after fermentation of the sugar, in the molecules of ethanol. The deuterium content on the methyl group of ethanol then varies depending upon the botanical origin of the fruit. SNIF-NMR (Site-specific Natural Isotope Fractionation – Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is a specific method for determination of the deuterium isotopic ratio (D/H) in small molecules, e.g. ethanol. This isotopic technique is widely used for determination of sugar adulteration of fruit-based beverages (wines, fruit juices..). In this thesis, the authentic samples of five different fruits (apples, oranges, grapefruits, pineapples and grapes) available in the Czech market have been collected and analyzed by SNIF-NMR. The results are presented as well as the comparison to some commercially available fruit juices and nectars.