摘要
The effect of ultrasonic treatments on Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in apple juice was investigated. In general, inactivation of the cells was more pronounced at an elevated power level and as the processing time increased. Approximately 60% of the cells were inactivated after treating the apple juice with 300-W ultrasound for 30 min. The reduction reached more than 80% when the juice was processed for 60 min. The linear inactivation rates (D values) of ultrasound on A. acidoterrestris were both process- and strain-dependent. The lowest D value at 36.18 min was found when using 600-W ultrasound to treat the A30 strain isolated from the air of a commercial apple juice processing plant, whereas the strain isolated from apple juice concentrate was found most resistant against ultrasound. Changes of sugar content, acidity, haze and juice browning were noted after ultrasonic treatments but did not adversely alter the juice quality. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Characterization of the effects of ultrasonic treatments on thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris provides better understanding of how ultrasound technology could assist in alleviating the hard-to-detect spoilage caused by this spore former. Although ultrasonic technology might not be suitable as a standalone unit operation to inactivate high cell loads, the process could be integrated with other thermal or nonthermal technologies to enhance processing efficiencies, consequently preventing microbial spoilage caused by A. acidoterrestris. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.