Effect of Ozone Processing on Quality Characteristics of the Fruit Juice Processing Industry

Fruit juices are amongst those food products that are consumed frequently and have good consumer demand. In addition, consumer demand for minimally processed foods with good nutritional and sensory properties has also been increasing. The decontamination of fruit juices is crucial, but thermal treatment can cause degradations in vitamins, bioactive compositions, and sensory and some other quality properties of the products. Nonthermal technologies have been studied and applied to overcome heat-related quality losses and to preserve the fresh-like properties of foods while maintaining microbial safety. Ozone treatment, being a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and easy-to-adapt technology, has also attracted researchers and industry hence resulting in many studies evaluating the effectiveness of ozone in the processing of fruits and fruit products. This chapter discusses the effects of ozone on the safety and quality of fruit juice products, and recent advances in ozone application in the fruit juice industry.