The effect of some pre- and postharvest factors of organic sugarloaf on pineapple juice quality and microbial safety

The study was conducted to assess the impact of maturity stage, storage temperature and time of harvest of pineapple fruits on pineapple juice quality and microbial safety of organic sugarloaf using completely randomized design (CRD) with 18 treatment combinations and three replications. The physicochemical, microbial and sensory properties were evaluated on the pineapple juice. The results showed significant differences in the parameters analyzed for the various juice obtained. The pineapples also had high Total Soluble Solids (TSS) values since they were organic fruits. From the study, over mature pineapples, harvested in the afternoon and stored in a refrigerator before juicing had the highest TSS value (20.2 oB), titratable acidity content (1.10 % citric acid), vitamin C (20.93 mg/100ml) and total phenol content (82.84 mg/100ml) but had the least total flavonoid content (6.10 mg/100ml). Yeast and mould counts ranged from 2.342 log CFU/ml to 4.227 log CFU/ml, which were below the limit of microbial shelf life for juice. Results from the sensory evaluation showed that juice from over mature sugarloaf harvested in the morning and stored in ambient condition before processing was preferred by consumers in terms of taste, aftertaste and overall acceptability. This information will help pineapple fruit producers and processors to have a fair idea of the juice quality to expect based on the stage of maturity, time of harvest and temperature of storage before processing. Key words: Flavonoid content, harvest time, juice quality, pineapples