TY - JOUR AU - Mapalagama, O.V. AU - Amunugoda, P.N.R.J. Amunugoda AU - Ranaweera, K.K.D.S. PY - 2021/12/15 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Decontamination of Pineapple (Ananas comosus) juice using Ozone as a Non-thermal Sterilization method JF - Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society JA - FOFJ VL - 9 IS - 5 SE - Research Articles DO - UR - http://thefutureoffoodjournal.com/index.php/FOFJ/article/view/398 SP - AB - Ozone is a non thermal preservation technology used for enhancing shelf life and the safety of the food products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of gaseous ozone on microbial decontamination and on some physicochemical characteristics (soluble solids content, pH, titratable acidity and color), bioactive compounds and total antioxidant activity of Pineapple juice. Ozone treatments were applied for Pineapple juice at 4 different exposure times as 15 mins, 30 mins, 45 mins and 60 mins at 250C and the overall impact on microbial load were evaluated. The reduction of Aerobic plate count was recorded as 1.99 log cycles and the reduction of Yeast and mould count was recorded as 1.92 log cycles after exposure to 60 mins of ozone at 200mg/hr dose concentration. However some quality parameters were significantly affected by ozone treatments. The most relevant alterations were observed for color, and for total phenolic content. Color has been significantly reduced through the ozone treatment but the total phenolics content has been increased significantly in ozonized juices. In this context, and particularly for the Pineapple beverage, ozone has been exploited due to their potential for inactivating spoilage microorganisms while being moderately effective in overall quality retention of the products. ER -