Authors : F.O. Abulude , O.O. Oyeneye , A.O. Elemide , O.O. Okunola and B.F. Alaja
Abstract: Juice samples were extracted from tomatoes, orange and pineapple fruits by using hand squeezing method (control) and a manual juice extractor constructed at Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Nigeria. The samples were subjected to metal contents, physico-chemical and organoleptic tests using standard methods of analyses. From the results, it was observed that metal contents in the control (As, 10 to 20 mg L-1; Zn, 2.4 to 7.1 mg L-1 and Fe, 3.4 to 6.7 mg L-1) were higher than the test (As, ND to 10 mg L-1; Zn 1.2 to 2.8 mg L-1 and Fe, 2.5 to 3.4 mg L-1), which may be due to heat reaction and contaminations from anti- rust paint and the grease used in the juice extractor. Al was not detected. The overall acceptability of the control was higher than the test. It is recommended that juice samples should be fortified with additives after extraction or during storage to replace loss nutrients and stainless steel should be used for the fabrication.
F.O. Abulude , O.O. Oyeneye , A.O. Elemide , O.O. Okunola and B.F. Alaja , 2007. Physico-Chemical Properties, Metal Contents and Organoleptic Characteristics of Juice Samples. Journal of Food Technology, 5: 1-4.