Protocol for making ready-to-drink passion fruit juice | Protocols, Manuals and Standards (Protocols & Software)
Description of the technology or innovation
The protocol comprises of appropriate steps for makingready-to-drink juice. Passion fruit is a high value crop grown by some smallscale farmers who normally sell the fruits. However, adoption of value-additiontechnologies would further enhance their incomes. Ready-to-drink juices arehighly perishable and require highly specialized protocols and equipment;otherwise the health of the consumer would be at risk especially if the hazardcritical control points are not observed.
The protocol for passion juice preparation involves a series ofsteps that are outlined below:
a) Select fresh and fully ripened fruits. Fresh and fully-ripenedpassion fruits without bruises or any signs of rotting must be used (Figure 1).This is important because:
§ Unripe passion fruitsusually create difficulties in extracting pulp from the seeds.
a) Sort the fruits properly and extract the pulp and seeds. Sort the passion fruits byremoving any foreign matter and discarding those which are rotten or bruised.Wash the fresh passion fruits with safe and potable water. Cut them using astainless steel knife and scoop out the seeds and pulp into a clean dishpreviously washed with potable water. It’s important to note that:
§ Clean and hygienically safewater must be used for washing the utensils. Potable and safe water (forinstance, boiled or treated water) is water that has no microbial contaminationwhich may lead to diseases.
§ Knives which are not made ofstainless steel may develop rust due to reactions caused by acids present inthe fruit and the metal. If this rust enters the food, it can be hazardous tothe consumer.
b) Clean the passion fruit pulp extractor machine. Dismantle the passion fruitpulp extractor machine and clean it inside and outside using clean and safewater. Assemble the machine and let it drain (Figure 2).
§ It’s very important todismantle the machine during cleaning even if it was previously cleaned after aprocessing activity since it contains small openings which may allow flies,cockroaches, ants, spiders and other insects or dust to enter.
Figure 2:Draining the fruit machine.
a) Extract the juice from the seeds-pulp mixture. Switch on the machine; add4 kg of the scooped seeds-pulp mixture and wait for 30 seconds before addingthe next 4 kg portion. In order for the machine to operate efficiently; thefollowing should be noted:
§ In order to attain the mostefficient extraction of juice from seeds-pulp mixture by the machine; it’srecommended to first add 4 kg and wait for an interval of 30 seconds beforeadding another 4 kg.
§ The weight of the seeds-pulpmixture and the intervals of time may be reduced or increased depending on theefficiency of the machine.
§ If the machine is runcontinuously it produces heat; thus it should be switched off for at least 5minutes between consecutive extractions.
§ The machine should becleaned well after usage.
b) Store the extracted juice. Store the extracted passion juice-pulp mixture(12% Brix) in a safe and clean container before mixing it with water to obtaindesired juice concentration (Figure 3).
§ It is important to use safeand clean utensils so as to prevent hazards associated with microbialcontamination especially at these final stages of juice production.
Figure 3:Draining the juice into a clean container
§ It is important to usepotable and safe water so as to prevent microbial contamination especially duringfinal stages of juice production. Boiled or treated water can be consideredpotable and safe.
b) Obtain the required Brix. Obtain the required Brix (total soluble solids as sugar) value(this should be about 12% Brix) of the juice by using a Refractometer andgradually add white sugar (100 g) to the juice while stirring, until a level of12% Brix is reached (figure 4).
§ A Brix of 12% has been shownto be acceptable to many people.
Figure 4: Obtaining theBrix.
a) Boil the mixture and sieve. Boil the juice and separate it from the seedsand pulp by using a clean stainless-steel sieve, immediately after the juice isremoved from boiling, and before it starts to cool down.
§ It is important to sieve thejuice while it is still hot and to use a clean sieve so as to preventcontamination by microorganisms which may cause health hazards to consumersespecially at these final stages of juice production.
b) Pasteurize the juice at a temperature of 80 °C for 10 minuteswhile stirring continuously. This will entail:
§ Heating the juice at 80 °Cfor 10 minutes is sufficient to destroy a majority of the microorganisms whichmay cause health hazards to consumers.
§ It is important to stircontinuously during boiling to avoid localized heating. The goal should be toachieve uniform heating throughout the juice.
§ Heating for more than 10minutes at 80 °C will lead to loss of flavour compounds and impart a burnttaste and smell, which may not be attractive to consumers.
c) Store the pasteurized juice. Store the pasteurized juice in a cleancontainer and cover with a clean lid until it reaches a temperature of 60–65°C. Add 0.02g of Sodium metabisulphite and 0.1 g of Potassium sorbate aspreservatives to 1 l of the juice and stir to mix.
§ Adding the preservatives ata temperature of 60–65 °C increases their ability to react with and destroy themicroorganisms, thus increasing the shelf-life of the juice.
§ Covering the juice isimportant, in order to avoid contamination by foreign bodies such as microbesand dirt.
d) Pack the juice. Pack the juice into clean plastic bottles which have been washedby safe and potable water. The juice should be packed at a temperature not lessthan 45°C.
§ The juice is packed at atemperature of not less than 45°C so to increase the effectiveness of thepreservatives in combating microorganisms.
Assessment/reflection on utilization, dissemination & scaling out or up approaches used
The main scaling up approaches used were sensitization andtraining of trainers who in turn are expected to train other stakeholders. Atthe end of phase 1, a total of 45 trainers of trainers (ToTs) had receivedtraining in which they were equipped with knowledge and skills. They also receivedequipment as a start-up package. In order to scale up and scale out, each ofthe ToTs was expected to train at least 10 other people every season. Throughthis approach; more than 4500 processors, transporters, consumers and othervalue chain actors were trained and sensitized on the importance of qualityfruit processing, marketing and fruit production. Under phase 2 of the project;it’s anticipated that more than 100 processors will receive training. Unlikenectar or concentrated juice, making ready-to-drink juice demands a very highstandard of hygiene which most processors cannot achieve in their own homes.This has been the main challenge, which the project is trying to address byorganizing processors in clusters and encouraging them to use joint facilities,so as to maintain the hygiene standards. Learning together in clusters has alsoencouraged the processors to make their own products for sale. Theyexperimented with the protocols and even made their own products like rosellaand orange juice.
Current situation and future scaling up
This innovation brings together information and organizes it in a coherentand easy-to-reference protocol that can be accessed by users and can also beused for training of trainers and other target stakeholders. The protocol has apotential for wider adoption among passion fruit farmers and agro-processors asthey acquire skills for processing fruit juice through training. Nonetheless,the most pressing challenge is packaging the extracted juice to ensure that itsshelf-life is maintained and the required food safety standards are adhered to.
Economic Considerations
This innovation has got a very high potential forcommercialization. Farmers engaging in value addition of passion fruits throughprocessing fruit juice stand to earn high incomes from the enterprise.
Gender considerations
The innovation is gender sensitivealthough women and youth were targeted by the project interventions. The projecthad been designed to help unemployed women and youth to be empoweredeconomically, to reduce post-harvest losses of selected fruits and vegetables;and to improve household nutrition and food security. The project has beentargeting the youth since the issue of unemployed youth idling in the tradingcentres has been of great concern. The women also felt that the innovationwould play a key role in contributing to the household income.
Contact details
Bendantunguka Tiisekwa;
Lead Scientist, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA);
P. O. Box 3001;
Chuo Kikuu-Morogoro, Tanzania.
Tel: +255 23 2603511
Mob: +255754 476410
Fax: +255 23 260 4649
Email: btiisekwa@yahoo.co.uk/tiisekwa@suanet.ac.tz
Bernadette Ndabikunze;
Scientist, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA);
P. O. Box 3001;
Chuo Kikuu-Morogoro, Tanzania.
Tel: +255 23 2603511
Fax: +255 23 260 4649
Mob: +255754 397700
Email: bndabikunze@yahoo.co.uk
Newton A. Temu;
Scientist, Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI);
P. O. Box 6226;
Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania.
Tel: +255 22 2700552
Fax: +255 22 2775549
Mob: +255 754 498934
Email: nastemu10@gmail.com/celu@mari.or.tz
Shingiro Jean Boso;
Scientist, Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB);
P. O. Box 5016;
Kigali, Rwanda.
Tel: +250 788 865789 /+250 255101987
Mob: +250 788 865789
Additional information
With the increasing availability of equipment and sensitization,this user-friendly innovation is highly sought after. This means more farmerswill be adopting the protocol for passion fruit juice processing.