August 19/Columbus, Ohio/Agriculture Week -- Investigators publish new data in the report "Storage Stability of Lycopene in Tomato Juice Subjected to Combined Pressure-heat Treatments." According to a study from the U.S., "A study was conducted to characterize the storage stability of lycopene in hot-break tomato juice prepared from two different cultivars and processed by various pressure-heat combinations. Samples were subjected to pressure assisted thermal processing (PATP; 600 MPa, 100 degrees C, 10 minutes), high pressure processing (HPP; 700 MPa, 45 degrees C, 10 minutes), and thermal processing (TP; 0.1 MPa, 100 degrees C, 35 minutes)."

"Processed samples were stored at 4, 25 and 37 degrees C for up to 52 weeks. HPP and PATP treatments significantly improved the extractability of lycopene over TP and control. All-trans lycopene was found to be fairly stable to isomerization during processing, and the cis isomer content of the control and processed juice did not differ significantly. During storage, lycopene degradation varied as a function of the cultivar, processing method, storage temperature, and time," wrote R. Gupta and colleagues, Ohio State University.

The researchers concluded, "This study shows that combined pressure-temperature treatments could be an attractive alternative to thermal sterilization for preserving tomato juice quality."

Gupta and colleagues published the results of their research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry ("Storage Stability of Lycopene in Tomato Juice Subjected to Combined Pressure-heat Treatments," 2010;58(14):8305-13).

For additional information, contact R. Gupta, The Ohio State University, Dept. of Food Science and Technology, Columbus, Ohio, 43210.

From the August 30, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition