FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
This invention relates to a process for increasing the shelf life of
sugarcane juice and the sugarcane juice produced thereby.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
Fresh sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) juice is popular in India as a
cheap and sweet beverage served at roadside stalls, cafeterias and
restaurants during the harvest season. Mostly they are produced by
hand operated or motorized crushers. Sugarcane juice is quite nutritious
as it contains natural sugars, minerals (iron, magnesium, phosphorous,
calcium) and organic acids (malic acid, succinic acid, acotinic acid),
amino acid, protein, starch, gums, waxes, waxes, non-sugar
phosphatides.
Processing and marketing of sugarcane juice is limited due to the major
problem associated with the juice production and storage. Browning and
sedimentation of solid components, which makes 18-20% of juice, are
commonly noticed in the stored juice. Mark able increase in microbial
growth due to high carbohydrate content leads to fermentation, which
affects the taste and aroma of juice. Various researchers tried to
overcome the deteriorating problem encountered during storage by

pasteurization, but the heat processing techniques lead to the flavour
and nutrient loss (Karmakar et al., 2010) while jaggery (gur) taste was
perceived.
Incorporation of edible organic acid was another approach adopted to
avoid the microbial contamination by manipulating the pH of juice. But,
at economical scale it was not possible as most of sugarcane processing
industries are at small scale entrepreneurships. Salt preservatives
mainly potassium metabisulphite and sodium benzoate have been highly
explored as the sugarcane juice preservatives. Sensitivity of consumers
to SO2 released from potassium metabisulphite and unpleasant pungent
aroma requires standardization and limits its application.
Formalin (0.01 to 0.05%) is used as a preservative. 0.01% of formalin will
store juice for 1 day, 0.03 % for 2 days and 0.06% for 3 days (Bobadilla
and Gill, 1981). Sodium benzoate and liquid ammonia have also been
used. Conservation of the juice for 6 days was possible with 0.1% sodium
benzoate, and 0.32 and 1.28 % of ammonia respectively. (Bobadilla and
Preston, 1981). Citric acid (40 mg/100 ml), ascorbic acid (40 mg/100 ml)
and potassium metabisulphite (150ppm of potassium metabisulphite
resulted in 90 days of storage (Chauhan et al, 2002). Lime has also been

used as a preservative. Thin, raw sugarcane juice preserved with lime for
lime for several months showed no sucrose degradation and no quality
deterioration, except for reducing sugar destruction. (Cotlear and
Benigno, 2005). Ascorbic acid at 0.1% was able to maintain the quality of
fresh sugarcane juice for up to 5 days at 10°C (Mao et al., 2007). Sodium
benzoate (100 ppm) and potassium metabisulphite (125 ppm) have also
been used by Kumar et al, 2009, as appropriate preservatives for mixed
sugarcane juice. Kawao root and mangosteen bark have been used by
Filanty et al (2010). Mishra et al (2011) have used a combination of citric
acid (0.3%), sodium benzoate (0.015%), potassium sorbate (0.025%),
sucrose (10%), and 5 kGy gamma radiation Dose effective for 15 days at
ambient temperature, and for 35 days at 10°C.
In the process reported by Shankaranarayana et al (CFTRI Annual
Report, 1986-87, p70). Sugarcane juice was subjected to pasteurization
at 70°C for 10 minutes. The drawback with the product was browning
and formation of off-flavour not acceptable to customers. In the process
according to Mann et al (Indian Farming (1988), vol. 37, pp 15-17), the
diluted sugarcane juice containing citric acid and salt was pasteurized in
order to overcome deleterious effects on the customers. The drawback of
the process was the absence of class II preservatives and low

pasteurization temperature, which resulted in quicker spoilage even at
refrigerated temperature. A ready to serve bottled sugarcane juice
beverage was developed by Bhupinder et al [Proc IIIFCON, CFTRI, 1988,
p. 105]. The drawback of this process was the absence of citric acid in
the beverage and also pasteurization for 10 minutes at 80°C, which is
insufficient to preserve the beverage. This process was slightly modified
by addition of potassium metabisulphate (sulphur dioxide 70 ppm)
[Studies on the development and storage stabilizing of ready-to-serve
bottled sugarcane juice, Bhupinder et al, Intl. J Trop Agric (1991), vol 9,
No. 2, pp. 128-134]. This is followed by bottling and sterilization for 30
minutes. The drawback with this process was extended pasteurization
time, which will result in flavour deterioration.
In another process (Effect of heat treatments on the quality of sugarcane
juice [Sivasubramian C G and Pai J S, Ind Food Packer (1994), XLVIII (2),
pp. 51-54], the juice was directly heated to 85°C for one minute. But the
resultant product had an off-flavour on storage.
'Studies on preservation of sugarcane juice' [Chauhan O P, Singh D,
Tyagi S M and Balyan D K, Int J Food Prop (2002), vol. 5 (1), pp. 217-
229] describes a process whereby sugarcane juice beverage samples were

prepared by pasteurizing the juice at 70°C for 10 minutes and adding 40
mg citric per 100 ml, 40 mg ascorbic acid per 100 ml and 150 ppm of
potassium metabisulphite, with satisfactory storage stability of 90 days
at refrigeration as well as room temperature.
The article entitled, Maintaining the quality of sugarcane juice with
blanching and ascorbic acid' [Mao L C, Xu Y Q and Que F, Food Chem
(2007), vol. 104, pp. 740-745] teaches that blanching of stems before
squeezing effectively prevented degreening and/or browning, and
reduced activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) reaction and neutral
invertase (SNI) activity in fresh sugarcane juice. Added ascorbic acid
delayed the increase of reducing sugar, titratable acidity, viscosity and
total microbial count, and also prevented degreening and/or browning
with reduced PPO and SNI activities in fresh sugarcane juice during
storage. Addition of 0.1% ascorbic acid seemed to be more effective than
blanching of sugarcane stems, and was able to maintain the quality of
fresh sugarcane juice for up to 5 days at 10°C. Beyond that, the quality
deteriorated as indicating browning, increased titratable acidity and
viscosity.
US Patent No. 2374219 (1945) relates to the preservation of liquid foods
such as fruit and vegetable juices by concentrating and sterilizing
without materially altering their natural characteristics.

US Patent No. 2499243 (1950) teaches a process for preserving raw,
untreated edible liquids by following steps, such as, placing it in a sterile,
closed container at atmospheric pressure and injecting carbon dioxide.
US Patent No. 3698950 (1972) relates to the inhibition of the action of
microbial and sugarcane invertases on the sucrose in sugarcane juice by
incorporating sodium metasilicate.
The process for preparing ready-to-drink shelf stable sugarcane juice
beverage according to US Patent No. 6723367 (2004) utilizes a
membrane processing unit and subsequent pasteurization. US Patent
publication no. US 2005/0143365, entitled Preservation of sugarcane
and other plant materials' teaches a process where the pulp portion was
dewatered and the juice portion was concentrated, and both were
combined to form a preserved plant material. US Patent No. US 7754269
(2010), provides a method wherein flavoured sugarcane juice containing
18-20% soluble solids can be preserved after suitable dilution in aseptic
unit packs. Indian Patent No. 184435 for 'Preservation process for
improved shelf life of sugarcane juice' describes a process for preserving
the sugarcane juice by mild addition of lemon and ginger extracts,
elimination of excess foreign material, pasteurization by heating said

juice, adding food preservatives (potassium metabisulphite), packaging
juice into sealed glass bottles and heating them in water bath for
sterilization followed by slow cooling with circulating tap water to avoid
breakage and finally store "Ready to Serve" bottle cane juice preferably at
room temperatures. Indian Patent No. 216709 provides a method
wherein flavoured sugarcane juice containing 18-20% soluble solids can
be preserved after suitable dilution in aseptic unit packs.
However, it is therefore desirable to design a process, which will lead to a
better shelf life of sugarcane juice with enhanced market value, by use of
effective food grade preservatives that work on wide pH of juice, i.e., 4.5-
5.9. At the same time the process should be cost effective so that it can
be economically viable for industrial implementation.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION;
It is therefore an object of this invention to propose a process for
increasing the shelf-life of sugarcane juice which is cost effective and
simple.
It is a further object of this invention to propose a process for increasing
the shelf-life of sugarcane juice which uses effective food grade
preservatives.

Another object of this invention is to propose a process for increasing the
shelf-life of sugarcane juice, which is effective over a wide pH.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the
ensuing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:.
Fig. 1: Flow sheet showing the detailed procedure according to the
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
Thus, according to this invention is provided a process for increasing the
shelf-life of sugarcane juice.
According to this invention is further provided a preserved sugarcane
juice comprising sugarcane juice, lemon juice, ginger extract and
potassium sorbate.
In accordance with this invention is proposed a process for increasing
the shelf life of sugarcane juice by using a food grade preservative,
potassium sorbate. The process comprises washing and cleaning
sugarcane and peeling off the outer skin. The peeled sugarcane stalks
are then crushed to extract the juice. The juice is filtered, to obtain the

greenish yellow juice as the filtrate. To this sugarcane juice is added
lemon juice in a proportion of 2 to 10 ml per litre of sugarcane juice, and
ginger extract in 2 to 10 ml per litre of sugarcane juice. This is followed
by addition 10 of potassium sorbate to 1 litre of sugarcane juice.
Potassium sorbate can be varied on ppm level i.e. within 10 to 200 ppm
and most effective concentration found is 100 ppm. The resulting juice is
bottled and sealed in sterilized glass bottles and pasterurised by heating
the bottled juice at a temperature in the range of 80 to 90°C for about 5
to 15 minutes. The pasteurized bottled juice is stored at 8 to 10°C. The
process is highlighted in the flow diagram presented in Fig. 1. This
preservative which has been utilized for sugarcane juice preservation
resulted in 4 months storage of the juice with better taste and aroma.
Potassium sorbate works over a broader range, up to pH 6.5 and also
effective at low temperatures to extend the shelf life of minimally
processed sugarcane juice drinks. Moreover, the sugarcane juice
formulation with potassium sorbate is a novel cost-effective approach,
which may find its economically viable application at large scale. In
relation to other preservatives explored for the surgarcane juice
preservation, i.e. potassium metabisulphite and sodium benzoate the
present preservative proved far more advantageous. The cost preservative
for 1 L juice preservation according to the instant invention is 18 paisa,
which is less than that of ascorbic acid preserved juice (62 paisa), while

cost is more than potassium metabisulphite (13 paisa). However, change
in sensory properties with potassium metabisulphite limits its
application.
The invention will now be explained in greater details with the help of the
following non-limiting example.
Example:
Sugarcane stalks were washed and cleaned and deskinned. The
deskinned stalks were crushed to obtain a greenish yellow juice and the
juice was filtered. To approximately 1 litre of the juice, 5 ml lemon juice
and 5 ml ginger extract followed by 100 ppm potassium sorbate was
added. The juice was then bottled and sealed in sterlised glass bottles.
This was followed by pasteurization of the bottled juice by heating at
85°C for 10 minutes. The pasteurized juice was stored at 8 to 10°C. The
effect of potassium sorbate or sugarcane juice was studied, and the
results are highlighted in Table-I. Table I shows the major components of
preserved juice after complete processing in sealed glass bottles at 100
ppm of Potassium sorbate.

In addition to this, the sensory qualities of the juice were unchanged, as
potassium sorbate is odourless, tasteless and water soluble. The colour
of the juice also remains unchanged with the addition of potassium
sorbate (In case of potassium metabisulphite/organic acids, the color of

juice of juice changes to brown). Further, as microbial load is minimum,
the possibilities of fermentation and fermented byproduct formation are
negligible.

WE CLAIM:
1. A process for the preservation of the shelf-life of sugarcane juice,
comprising adding lemon juice and ginger extract followed by
potassium sorbate to sugarcane juice, followed by pasteurization of
the juice.
2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 10 to 200 ppm
potassium sorbate is added per litre of sugarcane juice.
3. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein lemon juice is added in
a proportion of 2-10 ml per litre of sugarcane juice.
4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein ginger extract is added
in a proportion of 2 to 10 ml per litre of sugarcane juice.
5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein pasteurization is
carried out by heating the juice at 80 to 90°C for 5 to 15 minutes.
6. Preserved sugarcane juice having a long shelf life, comprising
sugarcane juice, lemon juice, ginger extract and potassium
sorbate.

7. Sugarcane juice as claimed in claim 6, wherein 10 to 200 ppm
potassium sorbate is added per litre of sugarcane juice.
8. The sugarcane juice as claimed in claim 6, wherein 2-10ml lemon
juice is added per litre of sugarcane juice.
9. The sugarcane juice as claimed in claim 6, wherein 2 to 10 ml
ginger extract is added per litre of sugarcane juice.
lO.The sugarcane juice as claimed in claim 6, wherein 10 to 200 ppm
potassium sorbate is added per litre of sugarcane juice.