ASCORBIC ACID RETENTION IN CANNED LIME JUICE PRESERVED WITH SULFUR DIOXIDE A ND BENZOIC ACID

Abstract

The effects of two levels each of sodium metabisulfite and sodium benzoate on the shelf-life of canned lime juice stored at ambient temperature was based on ascorbic acid degradation as an index. Sodium metabisulfite increased the shelf-life significantly (P< 0.05) compared to sodium benzoate, whose effect was not significantly different from that of the control sample. Increasing sodium metabisulfite concentration from 150 ppm to 300 ppm had a significant stabilizing effect (P< 0.05) on ascorbic acid although it did not prevent completely its destruction during storage. Doubling sodium benzoate concentration from 150 ppm to 300 ppm had no significant increase in ascorbic acid stability. From linear regression calculations, 300 ppm sodium metabisulfite resulted in the longest shelf-life of 49 weeks while the control samples had the shortest shelf-life of 22 weeks.