Stability of unpasteurized and refrigerated orange juice

The stability of orange juice obtained from a small extractor and stored in a polyethylene bottle was assessed under isothermal and non-isothermal storage conditions at 4, 8 and 12ºC for 72 hours. pH, titratable acidity and Brix did not alter significantly during the 72 hours storage. Microbiological analysis showed high initial count for moulds and yeasts that increased in the juice stored for 72h under the non-isothermal conditions with temperature abuse (12ºC/4h). Date of the sensory evaluation showed a small reduction in product acceptance in this condition. The juice, in the recommended validity period (48h), presented losses of less than 20% of the initial ascorbic acid content regardless of the treatment. However, after this time, the degradation became accentuated reaching, at 72h storage, retentions of 72 to 85%.