Extension of raw watermelon juice shelf-life up to 58 days by hyperbaric storage

- Hyperbaric storage (HS) resulted in longer shelf-life compared to refrigeration (RF).
- HS (62.5/75 MPa, 15 °C) caused microbial inactivation.
- HS at 62.5 MPa/15 °C preserved raw watermelon juice for at least 58 days.
- At lower pressures (50 MPa) a lower temperature is beneficial for preservation.
- HS showed better pH and colour stability than RF.

Hyperbaric storage (HS) of raw watermelon juice, at 50, 62.5 and 75 MPa, at temperatures of 10, 15 and ≈25 °C (room temperature, RT), was studied to evaluate shelf-life comparatively to refrigeration (RF, 4 °C).Generally, RF caused an increase of microbial loads to values ≥6.0 log CFU/mL after 7 days of storage. Contrarily, HS at 62.5/75 MPa (15 °C) showed a reduction of initial loads, by at least 2.5 log CFU/mL, up to 58 days, while pH and colour values did not changed under these HS conditions. Additionally, the combination of a lower temperature with HS has beneficial effects to control microbial development, particularly for the lower pressure studied (50 MPa/10 °C).In conclusion, HS increased watermelon juice shelf-life for at least 58 days, indicating a great potential for future RF replacement.