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Novel Industrial UVC System for Preservation of Fruit and Vegetable Juices

A novel industrial UV-C system was developed by AseptoRay Ltd. according to regulatory requirements and tested for preservation of a variety of categories of fruit and vegetable juices. The effects of 100% lamp energy output were measured on the reduction of indicator organisms, natural juice microflora, physical, quality, nutritional and sensory attributes. The AseptoRay unit was able to achieve a range of logarithmic count reduction (LCR) of the E. coli indicator organism between 5.0 and 8.1 in fruit juices at the flow rate of 1000 L h-1. According to the effects on natural microflora, the AseptoRay UV-C treatment of juices potentially can provide shelf lives of juice products during refrigerated storage similar to that for products treated with high pressure with no effects on the juice’s essential attributes. Introduction The growing consumption of fruit and vegetable juices has been attributed to the perceived health benefits of reduced calories and the “all natural,” “made of organic ingredients” message based on high contents of enzymes, vitamins, nutrients and bioactive constituents. To achieve these attributes, the juice products are minimally processed using cold-pressing extraction methods and preserved through treatment by novel, non-thermal processing methods such as high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric fields or UV light. Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light at 254 nm is an alternative non-thermal processing technology that has been approved by the US FDA and Health Canada for the pasteurization and shelf life extension of juice products (Health Canada 2003, US FDA 2001). UV-C light treatment is a less expensive and energy saving continuous process that is effective against all food borne pathogens, natural microbiota, moulds and yeasts and extends the shelf life of juices and nut-based beverages with minimum impact on quality and nutritional attributes while using various types of packaging (Koutchma et al. 2016). The regulatory approval of UV-C light emitted by low-pressure mercury lamps at 253.7 nm for juice products, and the growing premium juice market, opened new opportunities for the development and commercialization of novel UV-C systems. However, to achieve high-performance efficacy of UV-C light in products with low UV transmission (UVT), such as fresh, non-clarified juices, new engineering approaches have been developed that differ from those normally employed for water treatment. Due to UVT challenge, UV-C systems use thin film laminar, annular turbulent or Dean flow regimes in coiled tubes to treat fluids, such as juice suspensions (Koutchma et al. 2016). To address this challenge, a novel UV-C commercial unit has been specifically developed for treatments of low UVT and opaque juices and other beverages. AseptoRay’s industrial UV-C unit (MGT Industries Ltd. Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Israel) consists of the following major modules: (1) inlet valve, (2) product pump, (3) main control board, (4) ballasts board, (5) air vent, (6) reactor chamber, (7) balance tank, (9) recirculation valve, (10) product valve, (11) skid and (12) rector fan (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Schematic drawing of AseptoRay’s industrial UV-C processing unit The UV-C chamber of the unit contains UV-C transparent food grade approved polymer tubing that is surrounded by low-pressure amalgam lamps. The unit delivers light photons