Thermal Pasteurization and Microbial Inactivation of Fruit Juices

Abstract Fruit juices are the most consumed beverages worldwide owing to their rich, natural, healthy nutrients. In the last decade, foodborne disease outbreaks or spoilage problems have been reported for fruit juices consumed especially without thermal pasteurization. Generally, thermal pasteurization of fruit juices is related to heat treatments which are between 60°C and 100°C to destroy target microorganisms or enzymes. In order to produce safe fruit juice that is free of pathogens, is of high quality, meets consumer expectations, and minimizes commercial losses, thermal pasteurization must be effective. To achieve this, the physicochemical properties of fruit juices (such as pH), inactivation mechanisms of target microorganisms and enzymes, enzymatic and microbiologic backgrounds of fruit juices, and finally, engineering aspects of thermal pasteurization must be taken into consideration all together. This chapter attempts to put forward these perspectives to obtain summarized practical information and guidelines for those concerned.