Ready-to-Drink Beverage: A Science and Technology Formulation for Non-Alcoholic Food Processing

Food processing is a scientific and technological action that transforms agricultural products into a viable food. This involves one or more combination of processes to develop consumer-ready food items making seasonal produce readily available all-year round. Ponkan, watermelon and dragonfruit are seasonal and highly perishable fruits which are locally grown by local farmers as another cash crop. Such fruits have unique characteristics that is viable for ready-to-drink beverage. Ready-to-drink beverage on the other hand, is a formula from a pre-mixed ingredients that require no extra preparation other than thermal application. The study aimed to formulate a ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage from ponkan, watermelon and dragonfruit; analyze its physicochemical and sensory properties; and determine the return on investment. The study was conducted following the Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and statistically analyzed using the One-way Analysis of Variance (One-way ANOVA). Total soluble solids of the RTD ranged from 8-11 degrees Brix with ponkan-dragonfruit RTD as the highest. pH level of the RTD ranged from 3.44-5.22, displaying a varied pH level of the samples. Specific gravity of the dragonfruit RTD recorded the highest value (1.20); watermelon recorded the lowest (1.03); and ponkan – dragonfruit and watermelon-dragonfruit blend recorded same specific gravity of 1.12. In terms of sensory acceptability, all of the characteristics were organoleptically acceptable which differed significantly at 0.05 level of significance. The Return on Investment (ROI) of 56.18-87.45 shows that the RTD are feasible for production. The processing of ponkan, watermelon and dragonfruit into a ready-to-drink beverages presents a sustainable solution to mitigate post-harvest losses and add value to these fruits. By analyzing the physicochemical properties and sensory acceptability of the RTD, the study has highlighted the potentiality as valuable ingredients in producing consumer-ready beverages in the market. By developing value-added products from highly perishable fruits, it contributes to the efforts of the agriculture sector to promote food security through innovative food processing technologies

Ready-To-Drink Beverage, Non-Alcoholic, Food Processing

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