Effect of high pressure carbon dioxide on the quality of carrot juice

The effect of high pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) on the quality of carrot juice was investigated. The L-value of HPCD-treated juices increased significantly (P < 0.05) as compared to untreated juices, and the a-value exhibited an increase tendency with increasing the treatment time. However, the b-value of HPCD-treated juices did not change. The browning degree (BD) and pH of HPCD-treated juices decreased, the cloud and titratable acidity (TA) increased significantly, the UV–visible spectra of juices were lower, but the total soluble solid (TSS) and the carotenoids of juices were stable. The particle size of juices treated by HPCD for 15, 30 and 45 min increased significantly (P < 0.05), for 60 min showed a noticeable decrease and was almost close to untreated juice. HPCD treatment could not alter the Newtonian flow behavior of the carrot juice, but caused a significant increase in juice viscosity (P < 0.05).Industrial relevanceCarrot juice is one of the most popular vegetable juices, but it requires severe heat treatment for protection from spoilage due to a higher pH, its heat-sensitive quality is inevitably destructed. In this study, HPCD can avoid the drawbacks of the heat treatment as a novel non-thermal pasteurization, available data are provided for the application and evaluation of HPCD in the juice industry.