Abstract
The juice industry is regarded as one of the most important players in nutritional security and the economy because it provides sustainable access to important minerals required by humans daily, which in turn creates job opportunities since manufacturers can generate revenue through juice product sales. Most indigenous fruits of Southern Africa including marula have been utilized as raw materials for value-added products such as juice, which is claimed to be rich in minerals needed for sustenance of human health and nutrition. However, the suitable post-processed storage treatments for mineral retention appear to be scanty. The study objective was to assess the effect of different preservatives and storage temperatures on the mineral composition of marula juice. Marula fruit juice was subjected to varying preservatives (sodium benzoate and sodium metabisulphite) and storage temperatures (4, 6 and 10 °C) for 20 days. Juice samples were subjected to microwave-assisted acid digestion (HNO3), and minerals were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). Results illustrate that treatment combination of 4°C and preservative (sodium benzoate) exhibited higher retention of calcium (81.3mg/L), magnesium (180.8 mg/L), potassium (1523.1 mg/L) and iron (33.4 mg/L) when compared to other treatments. Therefore, marula fruit juice manufacturers should consider the use of treatment combination preservative (sodium benzoate) combined with lower temperature (4 °C) for better mineral content retention during post-processing storage for quality maximization.
Presenters
Lerato LekhuleniStudent, PhD in Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Gauteng, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
UNDERUTILIZED CROPS, MARULA JUICE, MINERAL RETENTION, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
