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.