Sustainable Shelf-Life Extension of Date Palm–Bael–Jujube Beverages through HTST Pasteurization and Protective Packaging

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a lot of interest in extending the shelf life of beverages. The impacts of packaging (transparent glass bottle vs amber-colored glass bottle) and pasteurization (LTLT vs HTST) as a viable option of preserving Ready-to-Drink beverages made from date palm extract (date palm extract 70%: Bael fruit juice 15%: jujube juice 15%) were investigated in this study. Physical-chemical properties and microbiological counts were also investigated during storage at 4°C. Pasteurization and packing type have an effect on the preservation of bioactives and antioxidant activity of products during cold storage (P<0.05). At the end of the storage period (9 week), the pasteurization (HTST) in amber-colored glass bottle had the highest total phenolic compound (TPC, 586. 33 mg GAE/100 mL), total carotenoid content (TCC, 3. 25 mg β-CE/100 mL), and antioxidant activity by different assays (DPPH, 763. 54 and FRAP, 786. 21 mM Trolox/100 mL). During storage, total soluble solids (ranging from 6.6 to 7.2 °Brix) were insignificant (p>0.05). Pasteurization (HTST) caused the least color change (∆E) in an ambercolored glass bottle during storage. No microbial, yeast, or mold counts were respectively found in the amber-colored glass bottle until the 6th and 7th weeks of storage for pasteurization (HTST).The shelf life of pasteurized (HTST) samples in amber-colored glass bottles was calculated at 7 weeks based on maximum antioxidant activity and microbiological counts. Finally, combining the benefits of pasteurization (particularly HTST) with packaging (particularly an amber-colored glass container) may be a viable solution for better preserving Ready-To-Drink beverages.