To that end, Dr. Lee and his team are: 1) screening bacterial isolates for HPP resistance, selecting final sets of bacterial isolates for validation studies and quantifying the effect of juice matrices on bacterial inactivation; 2) defining HPP parameters that affect inactivation of selected bacterial isolates, 3) determining the impact of recovery procedures on enrichment of target bacterial isolates, 4) defining a protocol for shelf life analysis of HPP treated juices; and 5) developing and disseminate a guidance document for the HPP treated juices.
Due to FDA’s requirement to validate the 5-log reduction, microbial challenge testing is often conducted with strains of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and L. monocytogenes, Dr. Lee notes. “However, bacterial strain sensitivity to pressure, microbiological recovery methods post-HPP, and HPP conditions can impact validation outcomes,” he relates. “While most pathogens are inactivated by HPP, defining the specifics can provide consistency in helping regulators evaluate validation reports, set precedence on how the juice industry conduct HPP validation, and allow manufacturers to produce safe juices to consumers.”
Juice: A Multibillion Dollar Industry
U.S. retail sales of 100 percent fruit juice reached $18.2 billion in 2018 and fruit drinks achieved $8.2 billion in retail sales, for a total of $26.4 billion, according to Beverage Marketing Corp. (BMC), New York, N.Y.
The 2018 average U.S. retail price per gallon of 100 percent juice was $11.52, while fruit drinks averaged $6.08 per gallon, BMC reports.
Of all fruit juices and drinks sold at retail in 2018, 100 percent fruit juice accounted for 68.93 percent of U.S. sales, while fruit drinks came in at 31.07 percent, BMC notes.—L.L.L.
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