REMOVING MICROORGANISMS IN FRESH APPLE JUICE BY BACTERIAL CENTRIFUGATION

SUMMARY— Bactofugation, a continuous centrifugal process of removing microorganisms from liquid foods, was applied at 9.000 g force to chilled and heated apple juice at a rate of 1,600gph. A reduction 99.8% in total bacterial count and 99.9% yeast-mold count of fresh apple juice processed at 7° was obtained. Bactofugating chilled apple juice was more effective than bactofugating apple juice heated to 54°C and presented certain operational advantages. Bactofugated, chilled apple juice retained the same flavor as untreated, fresh apple juice and remained fresh 22 days at 5°C, compared to about 5 days for the untreated apple juice. The simplicity of bactofugation, its relatively high put-through capacity and its effective reduction of microbial populations in fresh apple juice suggest that the process has potential application toward improving the keeping quality of this food.