Kinetics of Ascorbic acid degradation in asceptically packaged commercial orange juice produced locally in Nigeria

Abstract

The recent ban on importation of fruit juices into Nigeria led to increase in production of locally - made orange juice. Degradation kinetics of ascorbic acid at refrigeration (70C ± 20C) and ambient temperature (280C ± 20C) were evaluated by the application of zero-order reaction kinetic. Results showed satisfactory correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.902 and 0.941) for refrigerated and samples stored at ambient temperature respectively. The reaction rate constant revealed that degradation was higher at ambient relative to refrigeration temperature. It is suggested that kinetic models for destruction of food components are required to improve products by minimizing quality changes especially for a new product and to predict shelf-life during storage.

Keywords: Kinetics; ascorbic acid; orange juice; Nigeria.

Bowen Journal of Agriculture Vol. 5 (1&2) 2008: pp. 1-7