Abstract

VELASQUEZ VALDERRAMA, Ángela María  and  SANCHEZ ARENAS, Ricardo León. Use of microwaves in the treatment of mango juice. Rev. Lasallista Investig. [online]. 2008, vol.5, n.2, pp.13-19. ISSN 1794-4449.

Introduction. In recent years, the use of microwave ovens in the agro-food industry has gained popularity. This technology is used for heating, cooking, thawing, drying and, also, it has recently been reported in studies that it has been used to reduce and inhibit pathogenic microorganisms with a degrading action on food. <b<Objective. To determine the effectiveness of a microwave system to inactivate the microbial content in the mango juice prepared from fresh fruit, checking the effect on the potential of hydrogen, the pH and the concentration of soluble solids, ° Brix, set from the beginning. All of this is done in order to generate information based on this reality to design processes that use the microwave for the conservation of fruit juices. Materials and methods. The processing system used by microwave includes: two Samsung 2450 MHz and 1.5 kW microwave ovens, two refractory glass spirals, a tank with the fluid to be treated, a bomb, a condenser, two temperature sensors and an I.T.P data logger. The concentration of soluble solids was determined with a Bausch & Lomb amp refractometer with a 0 to 32 °Brix scale; the pH with a Schott CG 842 pH meter and the colony forming units in an Indulab colonies counter. Result. There were significant reductions of up to 89%, with a soft treatment in the microbial content. Conclusion. The significant reduction of the initial microbial population shows that the electromagnetic energy microwave works favorably in the process of destruction of the Aspergillus sp fungus.

Keywords : Thermal destruction; Sterilization; Microwave; Mango juice.

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