Effect of high pressure homogenization on Saccharomyces cerevisiae inactivation and physico-chemical features in apricot and carrot juices

This experimental work aimed to evaluate the potential of high pressure homogenization (HPH) to inactivate Saccharomyces cerevisiae 635 inoculated both in apricot and carrot juices. The sensitivity of the yeast was evaluated both in relation to its initial inoculum level (about 3.0 and 6.0 Log10 cfu/ml) and number of passes applied at 100 MPa. Moreover, the effects of repeated pressure treatments at 100 MPa were evaluated for pH, water activity and viscosity of carrot and apricot juices. Data obtained showed that repeated high pressure homogenization passes at 100 MPa allowed a significant inactivation of the spoilage yeast inoculated in both juices. However, as expected, the inactivation of the considered strain was greatly affected by the food matrix. In fact, a higher viability loss of S. cerevisiae 635 was observed in carrot juice than in apricot juice. Concerning the recovery, data obtained showed that the decrease of the inoculum level to 3.0 Log10 cfu/ml prevented (at least for 6 days) cell proliferation in the samples of apricot and carrot juices treated with more than four and seven passes, respectively. Also the refrigeration of the treated samples prevented cell recovery and, in some cases, induced a further decrease in cell viability also in the samples inoculated with 6.0 Log10 cfu/ml allowing a further increase in the juice shelf-life. An interesting and promising result was the enhanced viscosity of apricot juices treated up to five passes at 100 MPa.