10 replies to this topic

[kevinkt]

Hello,

We are trying to develop a canned fruit juice but would like to stay away from using preservatives. Does anyone have experience with canned juices that can offer some advice? A competitor has a similar product that contains no preservatives but does have ascorbic acid and citric acid. Might these be helping to create a long shelf life? I do not think they are cooking the juice in the cans. 

Thank you,  

[The Food Scientist]

Ascorbic & citric acid are considered preservatives... and yes they do extend the shelf life of food. 

 

Citric is more of an antimicrobial preservative while Ascorbic is an antioxidant preservative.

Edited by The Food Scientist, 06 November 2019 - 08:58 PM.

[kevinkt]

Thank you! Would you happen to know the usage rate of both ascorbic acid and citric acid to preserve fruit juice? 

Ascorbic & citric acid are considered preservatives... and yes they do extend the shelf life of food. 

[The Food Scientist]

What do you mean by "usage rate"? Do you mean maximum allowed amount?

[The Food Scientist]

Here's something that may help you:

 

https://www.ecfr.gov...146_main_02.tpl

[kevinkt]

I mean how much would I have to add to, let's say, a 12 oz of juice to preserve it. Thank you!

What do you mean by "usage rate"? Do you mean maximum allowed amount?

[The Food Scientist]

This too:

 

https://www.ecfr.gov...1cfrv3_02.tpl#0

[pHruit]

In general citric and ascorbic acid will not have a significant impact on microbiological stability in terms of spoilage.

Ascorbic acid will help reduce the rate at which oxidation occurs, and can protect against colour change/darkening not only during shelf life but also during pasteurisation stages, where the heat used would otherwise significantly increase the rate of oxidation reactions.

Citric acid can be helpful for managing pH levels, particularly in products that are naturally lower in acidity (vegetable juices, banana etc), and this has

beneficial effects in terms of pathogen control, but it won't generally significantly help with yeast/mould - lemon juice concentrates with natural citric acid contents of 20+% will still quite happily ferment, given the opportunity

 

I don't know if it's significantly different in the US, but we don't see much canned juice around here these days so I'm a bit out of the loop on it, but I have seen canners successfully use ultrafiltration as a microbiological reduction step, although this only works with clarified juices (and suitable hygiene controls at filling) - anything at all cloudy will just clog the filters up.

Hot fill might also be an option.

What's the usage/labelling position on Velcorin / Dimethyldicarbonate (DMDC) in the USA? I have seen one or two instances of this being used and not declared on the label, on the basis that it isn't present in the final product, but I don't know if it's permitted and/or declarable in the FDA's view.

[kevinkt]

Thank you,

We are considering Hot filling juices in the cans. I understand that the product's PH needs to be below 4 in order to be hot filled and shelf stable. My only concern is if citric acid and ascorbic acid can bring fruit juices to that level of PH.  

In general citric and ascorbic acid will not have a significant impact on microbiological stability in terms of spoilage.

Ascorbic acid will help reduce the rate at which oxidation occurs, and can protect against colour change/darkening not only during shelf life but also during pasteurisation stages, where the heat used would otherwise significantly increase the rate of oxidation reactions.

Citric acid can be helpful for managing pH levels, particularly in products that are naturally lower in acidity (vegetable juices, banana etc), and this has

beneficial effects in terms of pathogen control, but it won't generally significantly help with yeast/mould - lemon juice concentrates with natural citric acid contents of 20+% will still quite happily ferment, given the opportunity

 

I don't know if it's significantly different in the US, but we don't see much canned juice around here these days so I'm a bit out of the loop on it, but I have seen canners successfully use ultrafiltration as a microbiological reduction step, although this only works with clarified juices (and suitable hygiene controls at filling) - anything at all cloudy will just clog the filters up.

Hot fill might also be an option.

What's the usage/labelling position on Velcorin / Dimethyldicarbonate (DMDC) in the USA? I have seen one or two instances of this being used and not declared on the label, on the basis that it isn't present in the final product, but I don't know if it's permitted and/or declarable in the FDA's view.

[Ryan M.]

Thank you,

We are considering Hot filling juices in the cans. I understand that the product's PH needs to be below 4 in order to be hot filled and shelf stable. My only concern is if citric acid and ascorbic acid can bring fruit juices to that level of PH.  

 

If you add acid to control pH in the product you need to determine if your products will fall under acidified foods regulations.  If they do you have to register your facility, and the process, and then each product under this regulation.  

 

https://www.fda.gov/...ory-information

 

 

What's the usage/labelling position on Velcorin / Dimethyldicarbonate (DMDC) in the USA? I have seen one or two instances of this being used and not declared on the label, on the basis that it isn't present in the final product, but I don't know if it's permitted and/or declarable in the FDA's view.

 

 

You do not have to label Velcorin if used to a certain PPM amount 200 PPM, but it has to be converted to methanol and carbon dioxide (typical byproducts in water) before you can sell the product to the public.  It is deemed as "processing aid" which is how you get away with it without labeling on your finished product.

 

https://scottlab.com...lcorin-velcorin

 

https://wineserver.u...agents/velcorin

 

A company I used to work for wanted to start using Velcorin, but luckily the board was dissuaded from this because it went against the brand image of "natural".  The company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to research, produce trials, conduct sensory and was a few weeks away from pulling the trigger until the board said "NO".  I'm thankful they said no because that stuff is poison to people; don't inhale, don't get on your skin, obviously don't consume.  It would have been a nightmare to work with and handle.  Plus the containers of Velcorin were only available in glass which is another hazard to deal with.

Edited by Ryan M., 07 November 2019 - 09:34 PM.

[pHruit]

@kevinkt - You'll have no trouble getting the pH below 4 with citric acid, but you may not even need it to accomplish that - many juices are naturally below pH4 due to the acid content of the fruit.

If you wanted a more "natural" approach for labelling purposes, lemon/lime juice can accomplish broadly the same thing and are frequently used for exactly that purpose.

Ascorbic acid isn't very effective for pH management so isn't generally used for that purpose, but it is a good antioxidant so you may want to investigate use of for protection of colour during thermal processing. For some juices it's not really necessary, but e.g. apple will very quickly go brown without it.

 

@Ryan M - thanks for the info on Velcorin. The EU position now is broadly that it does have to be declared, even though it will naturally break down prior to reaching the consumer, so interesting to contrast with the US view. I can see the merit in both of them.
But yes, it's not a pleasant substance and I'd personally really only want to look at it as a last resort.