Development of Freeze Dried Functional Carrot Muskmelon Juice Powder

Freeze dried (FD) functional carrot muskmelon juice powder meeting the recommended daily allowance requirement of ascorbic acid and β-carotene was developed. Carrot and muskmelon juice proportion was standardized using factorial design and sensory evaluation as response. The standardized product was freeze dried and subjected for storage at ambient temperature conditions (30±2°C). Physicochemical and microbiological quality attributes have been evaluated initially and during storage. The degradation patterns of ascorbic acid and β-carotene, microbial quality, sensory and color values were used for establishing the shelf life stability of the product. Effect of storage on retention of ascorbic acid and β-carotene clearly established the stability of the product till 6 months of storage. Significant variation (p<0.05) in ascorbic acid, β-carotene and sensory attributes were observed beyond 6 months of storage. Water activity (a_w) of the product was found to be 0.190 and adsorption and desorption studies revealed a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) monolayer value of 2.414g/100g.