Fruit Quality and Quality Products
*High quality juice operation are dependent upon a source of high quality raw material.
No matter how good the process is, starting with poor quality fruit for juice production will lead to a poor quality product.
Often the quality of the fruit is dependent the stage of maturity or the level of ripening.
Typical assessments of fruit ripening include sugar concentration, acidity starch content, color, flavor and firmness.
*As is often the case in unit operations, efficiency drives the harvesting process, and in terms of harvester operation, this usually means some form of mechanical harvesting.
Quality can be preserved with mechanical harvesting; however extra care needs to be exercised in the design and use of harvesters.
*In general, all handling of the fruit should be done with sensitivity to the potential of cruising and contamination of the fruit.
Special care must be made on transport of the fruit through the plant so that large drops or other impacts are avoided.
*Storage facilities must be optimized for the type and maturity of the fruit.
Although general cooling of fruit at controlled relative humidity is standard for extending storage life of the fruit, controlled atmosphere can be used to maximize shelf life of fruits such apples.
*Starting with good quality, sound fruit is important but so, too, is the cleanliness of the process operations are important.
In all phases of the juice production, design and assurance of clean and safe operations are important.
Daily cleaning and sanitation of the plant with routine shutdowns will assure maintenance of a clean operation and prevent buildup of trouble spots.
Fruit Quality and Quality Products
