402 J. Agric. Food Chem.

1986, 3 4 , 402-405

Aseptically Packaged Orange Juice and Concentrate: A Review of the

'I'he shelf life of fruit juices and concentrates is limited primarily by microbial, enzymatic, and chemical
reactions that adversely affect their nutritional quality, color, and flavor. Pasteurization requirements
of freshly extracted citrus juices are based on inactivation of thermally resistant endogenous enzymes
whereas requirements for reconstituted juices are based on destruction of microbial populations capable
of causing spoilage. Aseptic processing produces a higher quality orange juice than hot filling; however,
differences in quality may disappear during storage at ambient temperatures. Oxygen dissolved in the
product, in the container headspace or permeating through the container, accelerates the rate of ascorbic
acid destruction and nonenzymatic browning and reduces shelf life, although these processes will continue
in its absence. The most important factor in determining the shelf life of aseptic orange juice and
concentrate is storage temperature.

Orange juice sales, primarily in the form of concentrated necessary for a one log cycle reduction or decimal reduction
orange juice, account for 60% of all fruit juice sales in the time (D value) was 0.44 min at 94 "C and pH 4.0 with a
U.S. (Florida Department of Citrus, 1983). Often when z value (temperature change necessary for a one log cycle
orange juice i s sold as a single-strength ready-to-serve change in D value) of 10 "C.
(RTS) product, the juice is concentrated at a processing Versteeg et al. (1980) reported that three forms of
plant near where the fruit is grown and shipped as a pectinesterase accounted for 95% of the activity in navel
concentrate for reconstitution before retail sale. Sale of oranges. Although a high molecular weight pectinesterase
RTS orange juice has nearly doubled in volume since 1978 accounted for only 5% of the total activity in navel or-
and is the taPtest growing segment of the T I S . orange juice anges, it was considerably more heat stable and was re-
ninr k et, sponsible for the cloud loss in chilled juices and gelatin in
IZecent interest in aseptic processing and packaging has concentrate6 produced by the cutback process.
been spurred by the advantages offered by flexible pack- Pasteurization at somewhat lower temperatures, i.e., 74
aging materials and reduced costs associated with utili- " C for 16 s or 85 "C for 1 s (Carter, 1981), may be used
zation of ambient temperature transportation and storage. for reconstituted juices without residual enzyme activity,
Although meptic processing and packaging has been com- which are intended for limited shelf life applications. Time
inon thr ougliiout the world, these types of products have and temperture combinations noted for aseptic processing
riot been wailable in significant quantities in the U.S.until of citrus juices intended for ambient temperature storage
the FULh dlowed hydrogen peroxide sterilization of the are somewhat higher and range from 85 "C for 15 s up to
pnclragc : i t > 19 :I (1T.S. Food and Drug Administration, 110 "C for 15 s (Wise, 1979).
1981). Microbial Effects. Spoilage by microorganisms is
The shclf lifo rd fruit juices and concentrates is limited limited to acid-tolerant populations, which are predomi-
primarily by microbial, enzymatic, and chemical reactions nantly lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Lactic acid
that a+~~rst!ly Afwt their nutritional quality, color, and bacteria, which are commonly associated with spoilage
flavor. ' 1 he objective of aseptic processing is to eliminate problems during processing operations at ambient tem-
microbial and enhyniatic activity and to provide a package peratures, were reported to have thermal death times (time
environment in which extended shelf life can be main- necessary to destroy a given microbial population at a
1pived (vrm Rockrlmann, 1.977). stated temperature) or F values at 65 "C in the range of
0.1-0.3 min in orange juice with an initial population of
P ~ ~ ~ ~ I ' F T ! R ~ REQUIREMENTS
[~~~IJoN 106/mL (Juven, 1976; Murdock et al., 1953). Yeast spoilage
Enzymes. Pasteurization of fresh citrus juices requires is more commonly associated with chilled juices and con-
inactivation of pectiriesterase to prevent cloud loss in juices centrates. D values for vegetative cells in single-strength
or gelation of concentrates. Eagerman and Rouse (1976) orange juice are typically less than 1 min at 60 "C (ko-
noted that about a two log cycle reduction in pectinesterase pelman and Schyer, 1976). Thermal resistance of yeast
activity was necessary to achieve commercial stability of ascospores is somewhat higher than that of vegetative cells.
citrus juices and concentrates. They investigated the Put and De Jong (1982)reported D values at 60 "C ranging
thermal destruction of pectinesterase in Hamlin, Pineap- from 1.5 t o 22.5 min for ascospores of several yeasts iso-
ple, and Valencia oranges and Duncan grapefruit. One lated from spoiled soft drinks and fruit juices. Heat re-
minute at 90 "C and 1min at 85.6 "C were reported nec- sistance is also higher in concentrates than in single-
essay to achieve a two log cycle reduction in pectinesterase strength juices (Juven et d., 1976; Murdock et al., 1953).
activity in oranges and grapefruit, respectively. Nath and Juven et al. (1978) found increased thermal resistance in
Ranganna (1 977) investigated the thermal destruction of concentrated orange juices was related to both sugar and
mandarin orange pectinesterase. They reported the time citric acid concentrations,but not to ascorbic acid or pectin
levels.
Monitoring of fruit juice concentrates for the presence
University of Florida, IFAS, Citrus Research and Edu- of heat-resistant molds was advised by Murdock and
cation Center, Lake Alfred, Florida 33850. Hatcher (1976) since pasteurization treatments may not
]To whom correspondence should be addressed at the adequately control this type of spoilage. Some heat-re-
1Jnivewity of Florida, IFAS, Department of Food Science sistant mold species are quite capable of surviving pas-
mi:l TTlirrian Nut,rition, Gainesville, FL 32611. teurization treatments, although low oxygen levels in
0021-8561/86/1434-0402$01.50/0 0 1986 American Chemical Society
Symposium J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 34, No. 3, 1986 403

packaged products usually prevent mold growth. Spoilage ture-abused orange juice were highly correlated with a
of fruit juices and other fruit products by heat-resistant browning index described by Meydav et al. (1977).
molds is often caused by Byssochlamys and Penicillium Saguy et al. (1978a) investigated the kinetics of ascorbic
spp. (Meyrath, 1962; Splittstoesser, 1978). Hatcher et al. acid loss in grapefruit juice during thermal and concen-
(1979) reported thermal death times for l@/mL ascospores tration processes. They found an apparent first-order
of several isolates of Byssochlamys fulua ranging from 20 anaerobic reaction that was dependent on temperature and
to 50 min at 88 "C with z values ranging from 4 to 8 'C product concentration, but not on initial ascorbic acid
in 12" Brix grape drink. Incubation temperature and sugar concentration. Browning in grapefruit juices during
concentration also significantly affected recovery of Bys- thermal and concentration processes was also studied
sochlamys isolates. Visible growth was evident in 15" Brix (Saguy et al., 197813). The reaction was found to be initially
apple drink base within 48 h at 30 "C but not found after slow (lag period) and later relatively rapid (postlag period),
110 days with 30" Brix apple drink base. Beuchat and represented by an exponential and a linear time function,
Toledo (1977) reported growth and ascospore production respectively.
of Byssochlamys niuea at 30 "C occurred in several fruit TEMPERATURE ABUSE
juices including orange juice with water activity as low as Nagy and Randall (1973) reported furfural was not the
0.90. Sucrose protected ascospores against death in fruit component responsible for flavor changes in storage tem-
products stored at +7 and -30 "C and in grape juice heated perature abused orange juice; however, furfural levels have
at 75 "C. Colony development was retarded in grape juice been reported to closely parallel the extent of flavor dif-
agar when more than 30 g of sucrose/100 g of media was ferences in orange juices (Nagy and Randall, 1973) and
added. grapefruit juices (Nagy et al., 1972; Maraulja et al., 1973).
Van der Spuy et al. (1975) identified spoilage molds Herrmann and Partassidou (1979) reported furfural
Penicillium uermiculatum and Penicillium brefeldianum formation in orange juices and concentrates at tempera-
from canned apple juice that had been pasteurized at 88 tures ranging from 36 to 100 "C followed the pattern of
"C. Thermal destruction times for free ascospores from a sequential reaction. After an induction period, the re-
these isolates ranged from 25 to 40 min at 80 "C with z action curve was found to be linear corresponding to a
values of 7.2-7.8 "C while intact asci required 30 min or zero-order reaction. The reaction rate constants in Ar-
longer at 100 "C with z values of 10.7-11.7 "C. rhenius equations yielded the same energy of activation
NONENZYMATIC BROWNING for all the orange juice concentrations investigated. Fur-
Nonenzymatic browning of orange concentrates has been fural formation was determined to result from specific acid
reported by many researchers (Kanner et al., 1982; Johnson catalysis, because the reaction rate was directly propor-
and Toledo, 1975; Curl, 1949) as a major cause of quality tional to the hydronium ion concentration.
loss in citrus products. Clegg and Morton (1965) suggested However, Kanner et al. (1981) reported furfural accu-
sugar-amino acid reactions were unlikely to be in the main mulated in single-strength orange juice more rapidly than
contributors to the formation of melanoidin pigments in concentrates during storage of orange juice and con-
during browning of lemon juice because of the high acidity centrates ranging from 12-58' Brix at temperatures from
of the system. Oxidation of ascorbic acid provided the -18 to +37 "C. In deaerated concentrates, furfural accu-
carbonyl compounds that subsequently reacted with amino mulation increased gradually during storage at a rate de-
groups and polymerized to give brown pigments. Although pendent on temperature and inversely related to solids
oxygen accelerates rates of ascorbic acid loss, anaerobic content. The reaction between furfural and other com-
degradation of ascorbic acid proceeds in the absence of pounds was believed to occur at a higher rate with in-
oxygen and leads to nonenzymatic browning (Kefford et creasing solids concentration. Thus, less furfural accu-
al., 1959; Passey and Mannheim, 1979). Kurata and Sa- mulated in concentrates, and thus less furfural accumu-
kurai (1967b) postulated pathways and reaction products lated in concentrates than in juice.
for aerobic degradation of ascorbic acid that included PROCESSING AND STORAGE CONDITIONS
hydration of dehydroascorbic acid to ketogulonic acid and Processing and storage tempertures are major factors
decarboxylation and dehydration to furfural. Under acid determining stability and quality of citrus juices and
conditions, anaerobic degradation of ascorbic acid also concentrates. Mannheim and Havkin (1981) compared
leads to furfural with 3-deoxy-~-pentosoneas an inter- quality of an aseptic bottled juice to a hot-filled orange
mediate (Kurata and Sakurai, 1967a). The formation of juice during storage. Immediately after filling the asep-
brown melanoidan pigments results from reaction of fur- tically filled juice was judged slightly better; however,
fural with amino acids or furfural polymerization. The differences between the juices disappeared rapidly during
interactions of nonenzymatic browning and oxidative re- storage. Storage temperature was the major factor limiting
actions with juice constituents are very complex, and shelf life in both products. Lafuente et al. (1979) also
catalytic behavior of one type of reaction on the other may evaluated the storage stability of hot- and cold-filled orange
reduce the predictability of the quality degradation juice at temperatures between 0 and 22 "C. Orange juice
(Adams, 1982). aseptically cold filled in glass bottles had a higher level of
Several methods may be utilized to quantitate the de- sensorial acceptance than hot-filled bottles or cans during
velopment of browning in citrus juices. Kanner et al. the first 4 weeks of storage at 0-2 "C. Acceptance of both
(1982) reported browning of orange juice concentrate as juices was similar after that point. A significant loss in
the negative change in L as measured with a tristimulus acceptance was detected after 2 weeks of storage at room
colorimeter. The Hunter value L is the amount of light temperature for aseptically cold-filled orange juice that had
reflected from the sample; therefore, a more negative value been reconstituted from frozen concentrate.
indicates an increase in absorbance. Browning of citrus The effect of storage temperature (-17.7 to +4.4 "C) and
juices and concentrates may also be determined by the time 0-12 months) on quality of 66" Brix orange concen-
procedure of Meydav et al. (1977), which measures only trate was determined by Marcy et al. (1984). Nonenzy-
brown melanoidan pigments after alcoholic extraction of matic browning increased, and taste panel scores signifi-
the pigments from samples. Robertson and Reeves (1981) cantly decreased with increasing storage temperature and
reported that tristimulus color values of high-tempera- time.
404 J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 34,No. 3, 1986 Graumllch et al.

Oxygen also influences quality and stability of fruit of alternative flavor such as aqueous essence.
juices and concentrates. Oxygen may be dissolved or en- CONCLUSIONS
trained in the product or in the container headspace or
may permeate through the container. Kefford et al. (1959) From the preceding discussion a number of conclusions
reported the presence of oxygen in frozen orange juices may be drawn regarding aseptic processing and storage
stored at -18 "C permitted slow oxidative loss of ascorbic stability of aseptically packaged citrus juices. Aseptic
acid throughout the storage period; however, in pasteurized processing initially produces a higher quality orange juice
juices stored in cans at 30 O C free oxygen disappeared than hot filling; however, differences in quality may dis-
rapidly. Oxidative destruction of ascorbic acid occurred appear during storage at ambient temperatures. Although
during the first few days of storage when oxygen was nonenzymatic browning and ascorbic acid destruction will
present; subsequent losses of ascorbic acid during storage continue in its absence, oxygen dissolved in the product
occurred at a rate about one-tenth of that in the early or in the container headspace or permeating through the
period. Ohta et al. (1983) investigated the influences of container accelerates these processes and reduces shelf life.
headspace volume, pasteurization temperature, pasteuri- The most important factor in determining the shelf life
zation time, and storage temperature on the quality of of aseptic orange juice and concentrate is storage tem-
Satsuma mandarin juice. Headspace volume and storage perature.
temperature were found to have a much greater influence LITERATURE CITED
on juice quality than pasteurization temperature and time. Adams, J. P. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual IFT Short Course
With increased headspace volume and storage tempera- on the Food Industry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL,
ture, ascorbic acid and sensory scores decreased rapidly 1982; pp 245-257.
while browning and (hydroxymethy1)furfural gradually Beuchat, L. R.; Toledo, R. T. Trans. Br. Mycol. SOC.1977,68,
increased. 65-71.
However, the influence of headspace composition on the Carter, R. D. "Reconstituted Florida Orange Juice. Produc-
quality of concentrated citrus juices during storage was tion/Packaging Distribution. Technical Manual"; Florida
reported to be considerably less. Passey and Mannheim Department of Citrus: Lakeland, FL, 1981.
Clegg, K. M.; Morton, A. D. J. Sci. Food Agric. 1965,16,191-198.
(1979) compared the effects of vacuum deaeration, hot Curl, A. L. Food Res. 1949, 14, 9-14.
filling, and nitrogen sparging on concentrated grapefruit Durr, P.; Schobinger, U.; Waldvogel, R. Alimenta 1981,20,91-93.
juice quality. They concluded that there was not a dif- Eagerman, B. A.; Rouse, A. H. J. Food Sci. 1976,41,1396-1397.
ference in quality parameters and shelf life due to the Florida Department of Citrus Market Research Report, Annual
different deaeration treatments. Gasque et al. (1981) re- Summary; Florida Department of Citrus: Lakeland, FL, 1983.
ported that headspace volumes of 20% had no effect on Gasque, F.; Perez, R.; Lafuente, B.; Navarro, J. L. Reu. Agroquim.
the quality of 60" Brix orange concentrate during 10 Technol. Aliment. 1981,21, 131-136.
months storage at 0-2 O C . For higher headspace volumes, Hatcher, W. S.; Weihe, J. L.; Murdock, D. I.; Folinazzo, J. F.; Hill,
it was recommended to keep the juice under nitrogen at- E. C.; Albrigo, L. G. J . Food Sci. 1979, 44, 118-122.
Herrmann, J.; Partassidou, V. Nahrung 1979,23, 143-150.
mosphere to improve the ascorbic acid and flavor retention. Johnson, R. L.; Toledo, R. T. J . Food Sci. 1975, 40, 433-434.
PACKAGING OF ORANGE JUICES AND Juven, B. J. J . Milk Food Technol. 1976,39, 819-822.
CONCENTRATES Juven, B. J.; Kanner, J.; Weisslowicz. J . Food Sci. 1978, 43,
1074-1076, 1080.
The environment provided by the package itself can Kanner, J.; Fishbein, J.; Shalom, P.; Harel, S.; Ben-Gara, I. J .
significantly affect storage stability. In order to provide Food Sci. 1982,47, 429-431,436.
an adequate shelf life and protect product quality the Kanner, J.; Harel, S. Fishbein, Y.; Shalom, P. J. Agric. Food Chem.
package must meet a number of requirements including 1981,29,948-949.
(1) barrier to light, (2) impermeability to gases and vapors, Kefford, J. F.; Mckenzie, H. A.; Thompson, P. C. 0. J . Sci. Food
(3) resistance to absorption of moisture, (4)resistance to Agric. 1959, 10, 51-63.
flavor or taint interaction with the product, (5) composition Kopelman, I. J.; Schyer, M. Lebensm.- Wiss. Technol. 1976, 9,
91-92.
of materials not toxic or harmful to health, (6) unalteration Kurata, T.; Sakurai, Y. Agric. Biol. Chem. 1967a, 31, 170-176.
by chemical and/or heat treatment, (7) hermetic seala- Kurata, T.; Sakurai, Y. Agric. Biol. Chem. 1967b, 31, 177-184.
bility, (8) stability for appropriate storage periods, and (9) Lafuente, B.; Gasque, F.; Nieto, P.; Izquierdo, L. Rev. Agroquim.
resistance to handling abuse. Technol. Aliment. 1979,9, 82-88.
Yoshida et al. (1983) examined the influence of various Mannheim, C. H.; Havkin, M. J . Food Proc. Pres. 1981,5, 1-6.
container types of Satsuma mandarin juice during storage. Maraulja, M. D.; Blair, J. S.; Olsen, R. W.; Wenzel, F. W. Proc.
Juice quality in oriented nylon/aluminum foiI/poly- Fla. State Hortic. SOC.1973, 86, 270-275.
ethylene standing pouches and paper cups laminated with Marcy, J. E.; Graumlich, T. R.; Crandall, P. G.; Marshall, M. R.
aluminum foil/polyethylene was the same as that in glass J. Food Sci. 1984,49, 1628-1629.
Meydav, S.; Saguy, I.; Kopelman, I. J. J . Agric. Food Chem. 1977,
bottles or metal cans. Standing pouches made of vinyl- 25, 602.
idene chloride/oriented nylon/polyethylene and oriented Meyrath, J. Rec. Adu. Food Sci. 1962, 2, 117-127.
nylon/polyethylene, which were permeable to oxygen, gave Murdock, D. I.; Hatcher, W. S., Jr. Proc. Fla. State Hortic. SOC.
lower ascorbic acid retention, higher browning, and re- 1976,89, 202-204.
duced sensory scores. Murdock, D. I.; Troy, V. S.; Folinazzo, J. F. Food Res. 1953,18,
Durr et al. (1981) investigated the aroma quality of or- 85-89.
ange juice after filling and storage in soft packages and Nagy, S.; Randall, V. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1973, 21, 272-275.
glass bottles. A distinct loss of limonene into the poly- Nagy, S.; Randall, S. V.; Dinsmore, H. L. Proc. Fla. State Hortic.
ethylene layer of the package was reported; however, the SOC.1972, 85, 222-225.
Nath, N.; Ranganna, S. J . Food Technol. 1977, 12, 411-419.
reduction in limonene was considered to be an advantage Ohta, H.; Yoshida, K.; Hyakudome, K.; Aoyagi, H.; Okabe, M.;
due to limonene acting as a precursor of off-flavor com- Susukida, W. J. Food Sci. Technol. 1983, 30, 200-208.
ponents. Other flavor volatiles were not significantly ab- Passey, N.; Mannheim, C . H. In "Tropical Foods: Chemistry and
sorbed by the soft package. But industry experiences have Nutrition"; Inglet, G. E., Charalambous, G., Eds.; Academic
noted a reduction in flavor intensities. Solutions to this Press: New York, 1979; Vol. 1, pp 141-153.
problem have included increased oil addition or utilization Put, H. M. C . ; De Jong, J. J . Appl. Bacteriol. 1982,52, 235-243.
 J. Agric. Food Chem. 1986, 3 4 , 405-400 405

Robertson, G. L.; Reeves, M. J. J.Food Technol. 1981,18,535-541. Versteeg, C.; Rombouts, F. M.; Spaansen, C. H.; Pilnick, W. J.
Saguy, I.; Kopelman, I. J.; Mizrahi, S. J . Food Proc. Eng. 1978a, Food Sci. 1980, 45,969, 974, 998.
2, 213-225. von Bockelmann, B. Proc. Int. SOC.Citric. 1977, 3, 820-822.
Saguy, I.; Kopelman, I. J.; Mizrahi, S. J.Food Proc. Pres. 1978b, Wise, D. J. Proceedings of the 19th Annual IFT Short Course on
2, 175-184. the Food Industry, Gainesville, FL, 1979; pp 93-102.
Splittstoesser,D. F. In “Food and Beverage Mycology”;Beuchat, Yoshida, K.; Ohta, H.; Hayakudome, K.; Aoyagi, H.; Okabe, M.;
L. R., Ed.; AVI Publishing Co.: Westport, CT, pp 83-109. Susukida, W. J. Food Sei. Technol. 1983,30,467-475.
U.S.Food and Drug Administration Fed. Reg. 1981, 46.
Van der Spuy, J. E.; Mathee, F. N.; Crafford, D. J. A. Phyto-
phylactica 1975, 7,105-108. Received for review December 28,1984. Accepted June 10,1985.

Postprocessing Changes in Aseptically Packed Beverages

Aseptic packaging has been a commercial success in other parts of the world. In the U S . however,
commercial success has been limited to fruit juices and beverages. The kinetics of nutrient degradation
and microbial inactivation during food sterilization favor the use of high-temperature short-time
treatments and aseptic packaging to minimize nutrient degradation and off-flavor development. However,
in fruit juice pasteurization, the flavor quality difference between aseptically packaged products and
rapidly cooled hot-filled products is small and may not be readily perceived by a consumer. Flavor and
color also change during ambient temperature storage, and these changes can negate the advantages
of aseptic packaging. Reduced storage temperature, reduction of oxygen in a package by proper product
deaeration, use of minimal headspace, and use of oxygen-impermeable containers are needed to reduce
rate of postprocessing changes and maintain flavor and color quality of aseptically packaged beverages.

The commercial viability of aseptic packaging, demon- pasteurized refrigerated milk is often unreliable. Asep-
strated with the successful operation of the Dole system, tically packaged produds enjoyed early acceptance in these
did not result in extensive commercial activity in the US. markets because consumer purchasing habits permitted
until 1982 when systems utilizing non-metal containers rapid product turnover in retail establishments, minimizing
were introduced. Extensive research on the use of chemical the time for undesirable quality changes to develop.
sterilants for aseptic packaging conducted since 1972 Consumers also minimize home storage of food products.
(Toledo et al., 1973) resulted in the Food and Drug Ad- The US. food market however differs from that which
ministration’s (FDA) approval of the use of hydrogen exists in other countries because a product stays in the
peroxide for sterilizing polyethylene that directly contact retail distribution chain and in-home storage for longer
foods (Federal Register, 1981). Approval was later ex- periods, increasing the extent of product degradation prior
tended to include all polyolefins (Code of Federal Regu- to consumption.
lations, 1984a), and aseptic packaging became a com- This prolonged storage raises some concern over quality
mercially attractive alternative to conventional canning. changes prior to consumption. While a number of reports
The U.S.market for aseptically packaged products are available on nutrient degradation during heating
consists primarily of juices, milk, and flavored milk. Al- (Wilkinson et al., 1981; Rao et al., 1981; Feliciotti and
though the juice market is doing very well (Smith, 1984), Esselen, 1957), very little information now exists on
acceptance of aseptically packaged unflavored milk has changes that occur in aseptically packaged products during
been very poor. On the other hand, there is increasing storage. This paper summarizes data on postprocess
confidence within the food industry on the economic via- quality and changes that occur in aseptically packaged
bility of aseptic packaging technology, as evidenced by the products during storage.
announcement of a commitment by a major processor of Kinetics of Product Quality Degradation. It is
canned soups (Campbell Soup, 1984) to replace metal soup generally recognized that nutrient degradation and the
cans with plastic before 1990. Plastic was preferred over appearance of undesirable reaction products that impair
cans because of its lower cost and its suitability for heating flavor and color of processed foods proceed following either
in microwave ovens. zero-order or first order reaction kinetics (Saguy and Karel,
Currently, the most dominant aseptic packaging system 1980). Equation 1 shows the change in nutrient concen-
in the U S . produces brick-shaped, laminated fiber-
board/aluminum foil/polyethylene packages. The system In (C/Co) = -kt (1)
that was designed originally for packaging milk has been tration when a product is heated at constant temperature.
accepted as a convenient means of distributing nonrefri- C and Co represents the concentration of undegraded nu-
gerated milk in Europe for almost 20 years. Ultrahigh trients at any time and at the start of the process, re-
temperature (UHT) sterilized milk is also well accepted spectively, and k is the first-order rate constant.
in South America and Asia where the quality of available The equation for microbial inactivation (eq 2) is also f i t
order, and the reaction rate constant has traditionally been
expressed in terms of the D value, defined as the time
Food Science Department, University of Georgia, required to inactivate 90% of the organism at a constant
Athens, Georgia 30606. temperature. N and No are viable microorganisms at any
0021-8561/06/1434-0405$01.50/0 0 1986 American Chemical Society