Abstract

The increasing demand for ready-to-drink juices has led to challenges for food distributors regarding the safety and quality of their foods hence food additives are added to foods to keep them fresh, control its pH and improve the flavor, texture, color or taste and appearance. The present work aimed at the quantitative determination of additives as ascorbic acid and citric acid in a variety of fruit juices of India using the classical titration method, to check whether the current uses of these additives are according to the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI). Consuming too much amount of vitamin C may increase the amount of oxalate in your kidneys, which has the potential to lead to kidney stone problem. The high intake of citric acid leads to stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, increased sweating and fast heart rate. In this study, we have selected 14 different popular juice samples which are consumed most by Indian children. Each sample was analyzed for organoleptic or physical tests such as color, texture, flavor, taste and pH. These findings indicated that the current use of ascorbic acid and citric acid in all juices by the fruit juice industry is below the permitted limit of FSSAI and are safe for the consumption by Indian children.

Key words: Fruit juices; acidity regulators; citric acid; antioxidants; ascorbic acid.