Quality control of some fruit juices available in Nigeria

Abstract

Quality control of products is generally a measure of the degree of excellence, which enables the determination of acceptability by consumers and to guarantee the safety of consumers. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the overall quality of some fruit juices available in the Nigerian market. Overall quality is made up of component characteristics like colour, texture, flavour, nutritional value, freedom from harmful microorganisms and undesirable substances. Each of these characteristics may be measured and controlled independently to ensure that the product is of good quality. The total quality control of fifteen (15) brands of fruit juices was determined using standard procedures. The results showed that all the physicochemical parameters, metal content and microbial loads of the products were within permissible ranges of the specification for fruit juices. Sample FM had the highest values for total solid (13.10%), total carbohydrate (12.30%) and ash content (0.30%), but the least in moisture content (86.89%). For all the fruit juices, no bacteria growth was observed but there was growth of moulds and yeast. The concentration of vitamin C in the fruit juices ranged from 0.72 – 71.48 mg/100ml of juice showing that some of the juices are rich in vitamin C. The fruit juices that were analyzed in this study are safe for consumption.

Keywords: Quality control; Fruit juices; Proximate analysis; Metal analysis; Microbiological analysis