Production and Investigation of Biochemical and Organoleptic Changes of Mixed Fruit Juice during Storage Period

A blend of different fruits has a great specialty on its splendid color, flavor, taste and nutritional contents. The purpose of this study was to explore the acceptable formulation of mixed fruit juice with better storage stability. The mixed fruit juice samples were prepared in four formulations incorporating pineapple, papaya, banana and orange with the addition of sugar (10%) and sodium benzoate (0.08%). Then the juices were heated for 5 minutes at 65ºC, bottled in air tight plastic bottle and stored at 4ºC for 180 days and 25ºC for 120 days. It was found that TSS, acidity, total sugar, and bacterial load increased slightly, but vitamin C and pH decreased gradually during the storage periods. Fading of color and off flavor was found at the end of storage period. The storage temperature of 4ºC was more effective to hold the quality of juice samples against biochemical changes. T4 sample showed better retention of vitamin C, pH, acidity and total sugar than other samples both at 4ºC and 25ºC. Panelists preferred the T4 sample most, which showed maximum hedonic scale ‘8' point on sensory properties. It is also observed that T4 ensured the better shelf life to preserve the color, flavor and taste until 150 days at 4ºC and 105 days at 25ºC.