Microbiological Safety of Commercial Pasteurized Apple and Orange Juices

In this study we describe the assessment of the microbiological quality of 12 commercial pasteurized apple and orange juices. Orange juice is the most widely consumed fruit juice in the world and together with apple juice are an essential part of human diet. Although pasteurization is the preferable method for bacterial elimination, some heat-resistant microorganisms and their spores could survive the heat treatment and cause spoilage hence triggering serious outbreaks. Our study revealed that the microbiological quality of all 12 investigated pasteurized juices (6 apple juices and 6 orange juices) meet the national, European and international standards. The results obtained indicated that the juices were free of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and facultative anaerobes, yeasts, molds or of diarrheagenic E. coli and coliform bacteria described in the standards. No heat-resistant spore-forming bacteria had grown during the enrichment experiment. Based on our results, we can conclude that all tested juices are safe for consumption.