JFS

S: Sensory and Nutritive Qualities of Food

Rheological Properties of Tomatobased Products after Thermal

and High-pressure Treatment
I SABEL V ERLENT, MAR
C HENDRICKX, PIERP
AOL
O ROVERE, PAUL
A MOLDENAERS, AND ANN VAN LOE
Y
ARC
IERPA
OLO
ULA
OEY

ABSTRA
CT
heological pr
oper
ties of tomato homogenate w
er
e obser
ved when ther
mally tr
eated
ABSTRACT
CT:: D
Drrastic losses in the rrheological
proper
operties
wer
ere
observ
thermally
treated
ic pr
essur
e and the highest loss was found at 60 C. These losses w
er
e mor
e pr
onounced with incr
easatmospheric
pressur
essure
wer
ere
more
pronounced
increasat atmospher
ing pr
essur
es up to 300 MP
a, after which the negativ
e change in rrheological
heological pr
oper
ties of tomato homogenate depressur
essures
MPa,
negative
proper
operties
cr
eased. A
atur
es up to 60 C combined with 500 MP
a for
mation of a tomato gel str
uctur
e occurr
ed and an
creased.
Att temper
temperatur
atures
MPa
formation
structur
ucture
occurred
heological pr
oper
ties of tomato homogenate was obser
ved. H
owev
er
atur
es
impr
ovement in the rrheological
observ
Ho
ever
er,, at higher temper
temperatur
atures
impro
proper
operties
a, the rrheological
heological pr
oper
ties of the tomato pr
oduct w
er
e unalter
ed and no gel was for
med.
MPa,
proper
operties
product
wer
ere
unaltered
formed.
and 500 MP
ds: tomato homogenate
heological pr
oper
ties
mal and high-pr
essur
e pr
Keywor
ocessing
ties,, ther
thermal
high-pressur
essure
eywords:
homogenate,, rrheological
proper
operties
processing

MS 20050510 Submitted 8/23/05, Revised 10/13/05, Accepted 12/25/05. Authors Verlent, Hendrickx, and Van Loey are with Centre for Food and Microbial Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Katholieke Univ. Leuven,
Kasteelpark Arenberg 22, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium. Author Rovere is with La
Stazione Sperimentale per lIndustria delle Conserve Alimentari (SSICA),
Parma, Italy. Author Moldenaers is with Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Katholieke Univ. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Direct inquiries to author Hendrickx (E-mail: Marc.Hendrickx@biw.kuleuven.be).

2006 Institute of Food Technologists

Further reproduction without permission is prohibited

Therefore, there is a growing interest in food processing and preservation technologies that do not make use of heat, or at least that
reduce the heat input of conventional technologies by reducing
treatment time and/or temperature (Mertens and Knorr 1992). One
of the technologies that is a possible alternative for the conventional
thermal processes is high-pressure processing. Besides the possibility to inactivate vegetative microorganisms (Mertens 1992; Knorr
1993), it is also known that high-pressure processing may display either enhancement or reduction in enzyme activity (Hendrickx and
others 1998). In this way, to improve or preserve the viscosity of tomato-based products, high-pressure processing may be used to selectively inactivate PG while maintaining PME activity (Crelier and others 2001; Fachin and others 2002, 2003, 2004). An additional
advantage of using high pressure is the improved preservation of the
nutritional and sensorial quality of processed products (Knorr 1993).
The influence of thermal processing on the rheological properties
of tomato-based products has already been partly described in the
literature, but only for temperatures higher than 65 C (Xu and others
1986; Snchez and others 2002; Valencia and others 2003). However,
literature on the effect of high-pressure processing on the rheological properties of such products is very scarce (Porretta and others
1995; Krebbers and others 2003). So, the aim of the present study is
to investigate the changes in rheological properties of tomato homogenate after processing in a broad temperature-pressure domain.

Materials and Methods

batch of light red tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Flandria Prince, Tradiro) was purchased at commercial maturity. Sterilized cold (65 C) and hot (95 C) break tomato puree, both concentrated to about 12.5 Brix by vacuum heating (62 C, 0.2 bar), were produced by La Stazione Sperimentale per lIndustria delle Conserve
Alimentari (SSICA, Parma, Italy). All chemicals were of analytical grade.

Prepar
ation of tomato homogenate
eparation
Tomatoes (~350 g), equilibrated at room temperature, were
washed and chopped into large pieces, and their seeds were removed
by hand. The tomato pieces were then homogenized twice in a blender (Bchi Mixer B-400, Flawil, Switzerland, 9000 tr/min) for 5 s. Half
of the homogenized sample was kept as control. The other part of
Vol. 71, Nr. 3, 2006JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE S243
Published on Web 3/27/2006

S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Introduction
he consumer demand for high-quality processed products with
fresh-like characteristics has increased remarkably in the past few
years. Preferences shift toward fresh, healthy, and rich-flavored readyto-eat foods with enhanced shelf life. Tomato is one of the most important fruit products. It is mainly marketed as processed products, that
is, pastes, concentrates, ketchup, salsa, and so on. Besides microbial
safety, important quality aspects of such tomato products are color,
taste, and viscosity (Gould 1992). Viscosity changes during processing
of tomato fruits are closely related to changes in pectin, a cell wall
polysaccharide, owing to the action of pectinmethylesterase (PME) and
polygalacturonase (PG). Hence, both enzyme systems should be controlled during processing to obtain the desired viscosity.
Nowadays, 2 conventional thermal processes, namely cold break
and hot break procedures, are applied in the industrial production
of tomato based products. In a cold break process, the chopped tomatoes are pumped into a heat exchanger and preheated to a temperature of approximately 65.5 C, whereby the pectolytic enzymes
PG and PME present in the tomatoes retain a sufficient part of their
activity and consequently are able to degrade the cell wall pectin
during subsequent processing. Hence, quality defects such as a decreased viscosity and syneresis occur, although such products appear
to keep their natural tomato color and fresh flavor. To overcome problems of viscosity loss and syneresis, a hot break process can be
applied. In such a thermal process, the chopped tomatoes are immediately preheated to a temperature between 77 C and 93 C. In this
case, the pectolytic enzymes are inactivated, resulting in a more viscous tomato product that does not separate upon standing. However,
quality losses in terms of flavor, color, and nutritional value are
caused due to this severe thermal treatment (Gould 1992; Snchez
and others 2002; Tiziani and Vodovotz 2005).

Rheological properties of tomato product . . .

the sample was packed and thermal or pressure treated as described subsequently. The total time needed to prepare the packed
homogenized sample and consequently to start the thermal or pressure treatment was standardized at 15 min.

Thermal treatment of tomato homogenate

Half of the prepared tomato homogenate (~150 g) was packed in
double polyethylene plastic bags (250 360 mm, thickness: 50 micron,
Medisch Labo Service, Menen, Belgium) and vacuum-sealed (Multivac
A300/16, Wolfertschwenden, Germany) up to 35 mbar. The sample was
spread over the whole internal area of the plastic bag, resulting in a
maximal average thickness of the filled bags of only 2 mm to avoid or
reduce temperature gradients in the sample. The sample was placed
in a temperature-controlled water bath during 15 min and afterward
immediately cooled in ice water for 2 min. After equilibration at room
temperature for 2 min, the consistency of the sample was measured
by means of a Bostwick consistometer (see Bostwick consistometer
section). During the thermal treatment of the sample, the consistency
of the control was also measured.

Combined pr
pressur
essure-temper
e-temperatur
ature
essur
e-temper
atur
e
tr
eatment of tomato homogenate
treatment
The combined pressure-temperature experiments were performed
in a pilot-scale single vessel high-pressure equipment (SO.5-7422-0,
warm isostatic press, Engineered Pressure Systems Int., Temse, Belgium) with a volume of 590 mL (5-cm dia, 30-cm length). The apparatus allows pressurization up to 600 MPa in combination with temperatures from 30 C to 100 C. The high-pressure pumping system
uses an electrically driven high-pressure intensifier with a displacement of 83 mL/min. The pressure medium is a propylene glycolbased fluid (60% Dowcal N, The Dow Chemical Co., Horgen, Switzerland). A cryostat allows heating or cooling of the system from the
outside of the vessel. An overshoot of pressure as compared with the
preset pressure is always observed due to technical limitations of the
equipment, which makes it difficult to control the exact pressure of
the high-pressure process. Consequently, the conditions of the highpressure process could slightly deviate from the desired conditions.
Half of the prepared tomato homogenate was poured in a flexible
polyethylene plastic flask (LDPE, ~100 mL, Medisch Labo Service),
further packed in double polyethylene plastic bags (120 170 mm,
Medisch Labo Service), and vacuum-sealed (Multivac A300/16, Wolfertschwenden, Germany) up to 35 mbar. The sample was placed in the
vessel, already equilibrated at a preset temperature. Pressurization was
done automatically up to the preset pressure and after 15 min of treatment time; the pressure was manually released and the sample was
immediately cooled in ice water for 2 min. After equilibration at room
temperature for 2 min, the consistency of the sample was measured
by means of a Bostwick consistometer (see the Bostwick consistometer section). During the pressure treatment of the sample, the consistency of the control was also measured.

Rheological measur
ements
measurements

S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Bostwick consistometer
consistometer.. The Bostwick consistometer is used to
determine the consistency of the tomato homogenate by determining
how far the homogenate flows under its own weight along a centimeter
scaled level surface in 30 s. The farthest point of flow on the scale at the
end of this time period was recorded as the index of consistency (cm)
for the tomato homogenate. To determine the alteration (loss or improvement) in consistency (cm) between thermal or pressure treated
(sample) and untreated tomato homogenate (control), the index of
consistency of the control was subtracted from the index of consistency
of the sample. Note that after each measurement the consistometer
was washed with water and dried completely before using again.
S244

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCEVol. 71, Nr. 3, 2006

Drying is necessary as a moist surface will decrease the friction coefficient of the instrument and will result in false readings.
Immediately after the consistency measurement of sample or
control, the homogenate was packed in double polyethylene plastic
bags (250 360 mm, thickness: 50 micron), vacuum-sealed up to 35
mbar, and treated at 90 C for 15 min to inactivate the enzymes,
which are possibly still present in the tomato homogenate. After
cooling in ice water, the homogenate was stored at 4 C until determination of its rheological properties by means of a rotational rheometer (see the Rotational rheometer section).
The reproducibility of the consistency measurements was tested
for 2 selected (T, P) conditions, namely at 40 C and atmospheric
pressure (0.1 MPa) and at 40 C and elevated pressure (300 MPa). At
least 3 replications were performed for each condition (T, P). The
average loss in consistency was found to be 6.55 0.45 cm at 0.1 MPa
and 12.10 1.10 cm at 300 MPa, yielding a standard deviation of less
than 10% for both (T, P) conditions.
Rotational rrheometer
heometer
heometer.. To obtain rheological parameters, such
as viscosity () and viscoelastic properties (storage [G] and loss
[G] moduli), steady-shear and oscillatory-shear experiments were
carried out by means of the rotational Physica Modular Compact
Rheometer (MCR) 300 (Anton Paar GmbH, Graz, Austria) using a 6bladed vane geometry. The primary reason for using the vane geometry instead of the cylinder for shearing the tomato homogenate
was to eliminate serious wall-slip effects. An additional advantage
of using the vane is the minimum amount of disturbance of the
thixotropic homogenate, when adding the vane into the tomato
sample (Barnes and Nguyen 2001). Temperature was controlled by
means of Peltier elements and kept at 20.0 C.
The tomato homogenate was poured into the cup and the vane
was lowered into the sample. First, steady-shear experiments, describing the viscosity of the tomato homogenate, were carried out
using shear rates from 10/s to 0.1/s. The time duration for each
measuring point was 20 s and a total of 14 points were obtained for
each sample. Second, a 5-min rest period (shear rate was 0/s) was
introduced because tomato-based products are thixotropic. Hence,
the network, disturbed in the steady-shear experiments, could restore again. Third, oscillatory-shear experiments, measuring the
viscoelastic properties of the tomato homogenate, were done at
angular frequencies between 100 and 0.1 rad/s, using a constant
strain of 0.1%. Finally, amplitude tests (oscillation) were carried out
in which the angular frequency is kept constant at 10 rad/s, while
varying the strain between 0.01% and 10%. This final test is required
because the strain amplitude used in the oscillatory-shear experiments should be situated in the linear viscoelastic region, that is,
where the storage modulus G is nearly invariant with strain.
The reproducibility of the data obtained with the rheometer was also
tested for 2 selected (T, P) conditions, namely at 40 C and atmospheric
pressure (0.1 MPa) and at 40 C and elevated pressure (300 MPa). At least
3 replications were performed for each condition (T, P). A deviation of
less than 5% with regard to both the average viscosity and the average
moduli was found for both (T, P) conditions. Hence, measurements
performed with the rotational rheometer were reproducible.

Consistency of ther
mal-tr
eated
thermal-tr
mal-treated
eak tomato pur
break
puree
cold/hot br
ee
Originally, the aim was to use hot and/or cold break tomato purees as real tomato-based products, from which PME and PG were
inactivated. First, Tomato PG and PME were extracted using a method modified from that of Pressey (1986), which is described by Verlent
and others (2004). Further, different amounts of these purified tomato
PME (1 PME unit is defined as the amount of enzyme that produces 1 mol of acid per min at pH 7 and 22 C [Verlent and others
URLs and E-mail addresses are active links at www.ift.org

Rheological properties of tomato product . . .

Results and Discussion

Rheological pr
oper
ties of tomato
proper
operties
mal tr
eatment
thermal
treatment
homogenate after ther
The effect of temperature on the alteration in the consistency, the
viscosity, and the viscoelasticity of tomato homogenate was studied
for temperatures ranging from 30 C to 90 C.
At all temperatures tested, loss in consistency of the tomato homogenate after thermal treatment was observed, that is, the index of
consistency of the sample was always higher than the index of consistency of the respective control, yielding positive values (Figure 1 and
Figure 2). The highest loss in consistency was found at 60 C (Figure 1).
Generally, loss in consistency is due to pectin depolymerization by
the action of PG on pectin. However, PME also contributes indirectly to loss in consistency, as PME creates a good substrate for PG. Verlent and others (2005; Effect of temperature and pressure on the combined action of purified tomato pectinmethylesterase and
polygalacturonase in presence of pectin, submitted to Enzyme and
Microbial Technology) investigated the effect of temperature and pressure on the combined action of purified tomato PME and PG in the
presence of pectin at pH 4.4 and found an optimal temperature for
PME activity and PG activity around 60 C and 50 C, respectively,
explaining the drastic and even highest loss (60 C) in consistency of
tomato homogenate treated at these temperatures. The fact that only
PG contributes to loss in consistency was investigated in literature
URLs and E-mail addresses are active links at www.ift.org

(Porretta and Poli 1997; Errington and others 1998), by using transgenic tomato fruits, which had reduced amounts of PG activity. They
found no loss in consistency of both cold (65.5 C) and hot (77 C to
93 C) break tomato puree, as PG activity was inhibited. Errington and
others (1998) also investigated the alteration in consistency when
using transgenic tomatoes with reduced amounts of PME activity. They
found no significant differences between the consistency of the control
and the transgenic tomato sample, indicating that PME alone cannot
cause loss in consistency and consequently that no good substrate can
be created for PG because of the reduced PME activity.
Figure 3 represents steady-shear experiments, describing the
viscosity (Pa.s) of tomato homogenate in the function of the shear
rate (/s), after treatment for 15 min at various temperatures. The
figure shows how the viscosity values decrease with increasing
shear rate at all given temperatures, indicating that tomato homogenate displays shear-thinning flow behavior (this behavior is also
called pseudoplastic). This specific non-Newtonian behavior is
also described in the available literature (Fito and others 1983; Vercet and others 2002; Tiziani and Vodovotz 2005). The viscosity curve

Figure 1Loss in consistency of tomato homogenate after

thermal treatment at 0.1 MPa for 15 min

a)

b)

Figure 2Comparison of the index of consistency of untreated

tomato homogenate or control (a) with tomato homogenate
or sample treated at 40 C and 0.1 MPa for 15 min (b)
Vol. 71, Nr. 3, 2006JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE

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S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

2004]) (30 to 200 units/100 L) and PG (1 PG unit is defined as the

amount of enzyme that produces 1 mol of reducing groups per
min at pH 4.4 and 35 C [Verlent and others 2004]) (10 to 150 units/
100 L) enzymes were added to several samples of 150 g of either
the hot or the cold break tomato purees. The enzyme-puree mixtures were then subjected to thermal treatment at temperatures of
30 C, 40 C, 50 C, or 60 C for 1 h, performed as described for tomato homogenate (see Thermal treatment of tomato homogenate section), followed by a consistency measurement with the
Bostwick consistometer (see Bostwick consistometer section).
However, at all enzyme concentrations tested, these treatments
had no effect on the consistency of the tomato puree, that is, no difference was observed between the index of consistency of the sample and the index of consistency of the respective control or untreated hot/cold break tomato puree. Besides the fact that
interfering compounds can be present in real food systems, another
possible explanation may be that free enzymes cannot easily access pectin in contrast to endogenous enzymes. Hence, to counter
this problem, another real tomato-based product was used, namely
the previously described tomato homogenate, in which the enzymes are endogenous and active.
Consistency of high-pr
essur
e-tr
eated tomato pieces
high-pressur
essure-tr
e-treated
pieces.. Tomatoes
(~350 g), equilibrated at room temperature, were washed and
chopped, and their seeds were removed by hand. Half of the pieces was
kept as control and homogenized (Bchi Mixer B-400, Flawil, Switzerland, 9000 tr/min) twice for 5 s, after which the consistency was measured with the Bostwick consistometer (see the Bostwick consistometer section). The other portion of tomato pieces was packed in double
polyethylene plastic bags (60 220 mm, thickness: 50 microns, Medisch Labo Service) and vacuum-sealed (Multivac A300/16, Wolfertschwenden, Germany) up to 35 mbar. After a pressure treatment with the
pilot-scale single-vessel high-pressure equipment (SO.5-7422-0, warm
isostatic press, Engineered Pressure Systems Int), the sample was
immediately cooled in ice water. After equilibration at room temperature for 2 min, the sample was homogenized, after which the consistency of the sample was also measured with the Bostwick consistometer (see the Bostwick consistometer section).

Rheological properties of tomato product . . .

of 60 C is positioned lowest with regard to the viscosity curves of the
other given temperatures, pointing out that the viscosity of tomato
homogenate decreases most when treated at 60 C. These viscosity
observations are comparable with the consistency experiments.
The viscoelastic behavior of tomato homogenate, determined with
an oscillatory-shear experiment using angular frequencies between 100
and 0.1 rad/s and a constant strain of 0.1%, after treatment for 15 min
at 50 C is represented in Figure 4. Similar graphs were obtained for all
other temperatures tested. The storage modulus G represents the elastic
behavior of the sample and the loss modulus G represents the viscous
behavior. The curve functions of both parameters together describe the
viscoelastic behavior. The figure shows that tomato homogenate is viscoelastic, in which the elastic portion (G) dominates over the viscous
portion (G), concluding that tomato homogenate behaves as a weak gel.
This observation is consistent with available literature (Snchez and
others 2002; Valencia and others 2003; Tiziani and Vodovotz 2005). For
both sample and control, the storage modulus (G) reaches a plateau
with decreasing angular frequency (rad/s), indicating that a network in
the tomato homogenate is formed. Under the experimental conditions
explored here, no relationship was observed between the temperature
treatments and the viscoelastic properties.
Figure 5 illustrates the results of a typical strain sweep experiment
using a constant angular frequency of 10 rad/s and strains between

0.01% and 10% after treatment of the tomato homogenate for 15 min
at 50 C. For all other temperatures tested (30 C, 40 C, 60 C, 70 C,
80 C, and 90 C), similar graphs were obtained. Two regions can be
observed from the figure, namely a linear viscoelastic region, that is,
where the storage modulus (G) is nearly constant with strain, and a
nonlinear region with decreasing values of G. It can be seen that a
0.1% strain amplitude is in the linear viscoelastic region. Therefore,
the 0.1% strain amplitude used in the oscillatory-shear experiments
(Figure 4) is allowed to be used in these measurements.

Rheological properties of tomato homogenate

after high-pr
essur
e tr
eatment
high-pressur
essure
treatment
The effect of combined pressure-temperature treatments on the
alteration in the consistency, the viscosity, and the viscoelasticity of
tomato homogenate was studied for temperatures ranging from 30 C
to 70 C and pressures ranging from 100 to 500 MPa.
For all conditions tested, the highest loss in consistency of the tomato homogenate after combined pressure-temperature treatment was
found at 300 MPa at all temperatures tested (Figure 6). The combined
action of purified tomato PME and PG on pectin during thermal and
high-pressure processing was studied at pH 4.4 by Verlent and others

S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Figure 3Steady-shear viscosity data of tomato homogenate,

obtained with the rheometer, after treatment for 15 min at
30 C (), 40 C (), 60 C (), 90 C ()

Figure 5Amplitude test (oscillation), performed with the

rheometer, after treatment for 15 min at 50 C to determine
the limit of the linear viscoelastic range: storage modulus
(G) of sample () and control () and loss modulus (G) of
sample () and control ()

Figure 4Viscoelastic behavior of tomato homogenate,

measured with the rheometer, after treatment for 15 min at
50 C: storage modulus (G) of sample () and control () and
loss modulus (G) of sample () and control ()

Figure 6Loss in consistency of tomato homogenate after

combined pressure-temperature treatments for 15 min: 30 C
(), 40 C (), 50 C (), 60 C (), 70 C ()

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URLs and E-mail addresses are active links at www.ift.org

Rheological properties of tomato product . . .

(2005; Effect of temperature and pressure on the combined action of
purified tomato pectinmethylesterase and polygalacturonase in presence of pectin, submitted to Enzyme and Microbial Technology), and
they observed that tomato PME was very active in presence of tomato
PG at pressures up to 300 MPa. PME creates a good substrate for PG,
which also has a sufficient high activity at 300 MPa. These findings
may explain the drastic loss in consistency of tomato homogenate treated at 300 MPa. Striking was that negative values were observed at temperatures up to 60 C combined with 500 MPa, indicating that the
consistency of the treated tomato homogenate was improved with
regard to the control, which is favorable (Figure 7).
However, the disadvantage is that a jelly-like translucent structure
was formed and serious syneresis occurred, which is unacceptable
for the consumer. These 2 phenomena were not or only to a small extent observed at lower pressure levels or at atmospheric pressure
(Figure 8). Porretta and others (1995) and Krebbers and others
(2003) also found that high-pressure-treated (>500 MPa) tomatobased products resulted in an improved viscosity and that a jelly-like
homogenous structure was formed. Porretta and others (1995) ascribed this gel formation to protein-tissue coagulation and compacting. At 70 C combined with 500 MPa, neither loss nor improvement
in consistency of the tomato homogenate was observed. So, this
seems to be the best processing condition toward food quality but
also toward food safety, as vegetative microorganisms are already
inactivated at 500 MPa and 25 C and outgrowth of remaining bacterial spores is prevented by the low pH (Mertens 1992; Porretta and
others 1995; Hendrickx and others 1998; Heinz and Knorr 2002). Several Salmonella and hepatitis outbreaks from tomato-based products have already been reported. However, it was found in the literature that, toward food safety, both Salmonella and hepatitis can be
easily inactivated by high-pressure processing, even at pressures
lower than 500 MPa combined with ambient temperature (Calci and
others 2005; Bayindirli and others 2006).
The improved consistency and the gel formation at 500 MPa were
further investigated. First, the treatment time of 15 min was shortened. However, even after a treatment time of only 5 min at 40 C
and 500 MPa, the same improvement in consistency was obtained,
and the appearance of the pressure-treated tomato homogenate was

a)

the same compared with a treatment time of 15 min. Porretta and

others (1995) described that viscosity is strongly dependent on the
pressure applied, but independent of treatment time. Second, by
addition of the chelator EDTA (Sigma), it was investigated to what extent the formation of the gel and the improved consistency at 40 C
and 500 MPa can be ascribed to the presence of calcium ions. 5 g
EDTA, allowing calcium ion binding, was added to 350 g chopped tomatoes from which the seeds were removed. The whole was then
homogenized, and the obtained homogenate was pressure treated
at 40 C and 500 MPa. The index of consistency of the control was
much higher than usual, indicating that in all probability the chelator
EDTA bounded present calcium ions, resulting in a break down of
current bonds between pectin and calcium ions. After treatment at
40 C and 500 MPa, the index of consistency was the same as compared with the control, but no gel formation or syneresis occurred.
Hence, it is presumable that calcium ions play a crucial role in the gel
formation and improvement of the consistency at 500 MPa due to
crosslinking of low-methoxyl pectin chains, generated by PME, with
calcium ions. Very recently in the context of thermal processing, Anthon and others (2005) observed an improved firmness of diced tomatoes during calcium treatment. They found that an increased
PME activity leads to extensive pectin deesterification and increased
calcium cross-linking of the pectins.
In a final experiment, tomato pieces were pressure-treated at 40 C
and 500 MPa for 15 min (see Materials and Methods section) after
which the consistency of the homogenized sample was measured.
The index of consistency of the sample was lower than that of the
control, yielding again a negative Bostwick-value which is of course
favorable. Even though the tomato pieces appeared to be jelly-like
before blending, after homogenization, no gel structure occurred
anymore. At 1st instance, hardly no syneresis was observed, but after
awhile, separation of water was perceptible.
Steady-shear experiments after treatment of the tomato homogenate for 15 min at 30 C combined with various pressures are represented in Figure 9. Similar graphs were obtained for all other pressure-temperature combinations tested. As at atmospheric pressure,
the viscosity values decrease with increasing shear rate at all given
pressures at 30 C, pointing out that tomato homogenate displays
pseudoplastic flow behavior. The sample treated at 500 MPa has
the highest viscosity, and the sample treated at 300 MPa has the
lowest viscosity. These findings are comparable with the results acquired in the consistency experiments.
An example of an oscillatory-shear experiment after treatment of

Figure 7Comparison of the index of consistency of untreated

tomato homogenate or control (a) with tomato homogenate or
sample treated at 40 C and 500 MPa for 15 min (b)
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Figure 8Comparison of the appearance of processed tomato

homogenates at 40 C for 15 min at 0.1 MPa (a) and at 500
MPa (b)
Vol. 71, Nr. 3, 2006JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE

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S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

b)

Rheological properties of tomato product . . .

the tomato homogenate for 15 min at 30 C and 500 MPa, showing
the viscoelastic behavior of tomato homogenate, is represented in
Figure 10, which is similar to Figure 4. For all other pressure-temperature combinations tested, similar graphs were obtained. However,
only at pressures of 500 MPa the curves of the sample are positioned
above the curves of the control, which is the opposite for all other
pressures tested lower than 500 MPa. This observation is analogous
to the negative Bostwick-values at 500 MPa in the consistency experiments. Under the experimental conditions explored here, no other
relationships were observed between the temperature-pressure
treatments and the viscoelastic properties. Apart from that, the same
findings were observed as at atmospheric pressure.

efficient to improve the rheological properties of tomato homogenate. However, other quality defects, such as syneresis and formation of a jelly-like translucent structure, occurred. Nevertheless, no
gel structure was observed anymore after homogenization, the problem of syneresis still exists but to a lesser extent. No change in rheological properties or in appearance of the tomato homogenate treated at 500 MPa and 70 C was observed. Hence, the tomato product
quality is preserved at this process condition but based on the literature, the microbial safety of the tomato product is also retained.
The conditions described previously need validation for other tomato varieties that might have differences, for example, in pectin content, enzyme activity, and pH.

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

ectin in tomato puree, in which the pectin degrading enzymes

were inactivated, cannot be degraded by freely added tomato PME
and PG. Consequently, to improve the rheological properties of tomato-based products, proper process conditions must be chosen to
enhance and reduce the activity of the endogenous tomato PME and
PG, respectively. Thermal treatments and high-pressure treatments
up to 400 MPa of tomato homogenate lead to serious damages of
rheological properties. On the contrary, high-pressure treatments at
500 MPa, combined with temperatures up to 60 C, seemed to be very

This research has been supported by the Flemish GovernmentIWT, the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders, and the Research
Council of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Figure 9Steady-shear viscosity data of tomato homogenate,

obtained with the rheometer, after treatment for 15 min at
30 C combined with 0.1 MPa (), 100 MPa (), 300 MPa (),
500 MPa ()

S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Figure 10Viscoelastic behavior of tomato homogenate,

measured with the rheometer, after treatment for 15 min at
30 C and 500 MPa: storage modulus (G) of sample () and
control () and loss modulus (G) of sample () and control ()
S248

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCEVol. 71, Nr. 3, 2006

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