Reference Guideline for Pineapple Juice

Introduction

This reference guideline seeks to define various acceptability parameters for pineapple juice.
The parameters are listed under 2 sections:

 Section A contains various parameters that characterise the absolute quality requirements. They are considered as
being mandatory for all pineaple juices marketed in the EU.

 Section B contains various criteria relevant to the evaluation of identity and authenticity. It also contains some less
critical quality criteria. It is crucial for users of this guideline to understand that a valid conclusion, regarding the
authenticity of a particular sample, can only be reached providing the whole analytical picture has been
subject to expert interpretation. If some parameters do not fall within the values quoted in Section B this does not
mean, automatically, that the sample is adulterated.

The values and comments in this guideline are based on pure, authentic juices, without permitted ingredients and / or
additives, exhibiting the characteristic colour and flavour of the named fruit.

Pineapple juice is obtained, by definition of the EC Directive from mature and sound fruit by mechanical processes and is
treated by physical means.

It is understood that :

- pineapple juice is made from the edible part of Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.
- for the fruit juice industry mainly juice is processed. The indicated values are therefore referred to litres.
- only the treatments and processes regulated by the Fruit Juice Directive (see annex 8.1) are permitted.
- for the reconstitution of concentrated fruit juices water should have the appropriate characteristics. The definition of
"appropriate" is given in Chapter 5.3.a under specific comments.
- the use of additives is regulated by horizontal European additives directives. The details are listed in annex 8.6.
- if in-line water extraction (diffusion) of the edible part of the fruit is used in the manufacture of concentrated juice the
following conditions have to be met:
° the water used for the extraction must conform with the requirements as set out in chapter 5.3.b.;
° the temperature of the water should be as low as possible and no higher than 30 C;
° during this in-line water extraction process, apart from separation and re-addition of the obtained soluble solids, no
further processes (e.g. enzymation) are allowed.

Various types and origins of fruit of industrial significance were subject to comprehensive analysis to provide the values found
in this guideline. To help in their interpretation please read carefully the associated Commentary Notes

6.5 Reference Guide Pineapple Revision December 2010

A. Absolute quality requirements

1. Industrially agreed upon requirements Commentary Notes

DIRECT JUICE
Rel. density 20/20 min. 1.045 Although most direct juices show a rel. density
Corresponding Brix min. 11.2 of 1.052 or higher it has been acknowledged
that single strength juices from defined origins
and/or varieties can show lower figures but the
lowest acceptable value is 1.045.

JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE

Rel. density min 1.052

Corresponding Brix min 12.8

2. Hygiene requirements

Volatile acids as acetic acid g/l max. 0.4

Ethanol g/l max. 3.0

D/L Lactic acid g/l max. 0.5

3. Environmental requirements
Arsenic and heavy metals
Arsenic (As) mg/kg max. 0.1
Lead (Pb) mg/kg max. 0.05
Copper (Cu) mg/kg max. 5.0
Zinc (Zn) mg/kg max. 5.0
Iron (Fe) mg/kg max. 5.0 In canned products higher values for iron and
Tin (Sn) mg/kg max. 1.0 tin are possible but they should not exceed
Mercury (Hg) mg/kg max. 0.01 official limits.
Cadmium (Cd) mg/kg max. 0.05

4. Compositional requirements

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) mg/l max. 20

B. Further criteria for evaluation of identity and authenticity

The B-criteria are not a set of standards. If the result of any analysis falls outside the given parameters, the conclusion should not
automatically be drawn that the product is questionnable. For a balanced interpretation it is necessary to consult the General
Comments and the Detailed Comments.

Commentary Notes

Titratable acidity at pH 8.1
mval 50 - 180 The level of acidity is essentially determined by the
proportion of citric and malic acid and depends very
much on climatic and soil conditions. The values
indicated correspond to 3.2 - 11.5 g/l, calculated as
anhydrous citric acid (pH 8.1). The sum of malic and
citric acid is approx. 30 % higher than the titratable acid
(pH 8.1 calculated as citric acid). Tartaric acid is not
present in the fruit.

Citric acid g/l 3.0 - 11.0 The natural amount of citric acid is in all cases higher
than that of malic acid. The citric: malic acid ratio varies
between 2 and 4.

D-Isocitric acid mg/l 80 - 250 The normal range is between 100 and 200 mg/l. Values
lower than 100 mg/l and even below the minimum of 80
mg/l can only be obtained in high ratio products

Citric acid: D-Isocitric acid 25 - 70 Only in rare cases the ratio can be higher than 65.
However this should correlate to low isocitric acid
values otherwise values higher than the limit indicate

6.5 Reference Guide Pineapple Revision December 2010

 the addition of citric acid

L-malic acid g/l 1.0 - 4.0 The naturally present quantity is mainly between 1 and
3 g/l.

D-malic acid mg/l n.p. D-malic acid is not present in the fruit. Small amounts
measured can be due to analytical methodology

Ash g/l 2.2 - 4.5 The ash content depends very much upon processing
techniques. Normally the ash content is about 3 g/l.
Juices produced from fruit flesh only show values in the
lower part of the given range.

Sodium (Na) mg/l max. 30 In the case of properly produced juices, the sodium
content is as a rule under 20 mg/l. In the case of values
over 30 mg/l, the origin of the raw materials or the
technology applied should be investigated. For juices
from concentrate, the values may also be influenced by
the water used for reconstitution.

Potassium (K) mg/l 900 - 2000 The potassium content depends upon processing
technology. The average value is approximately 1350
mg/l. Values higher than the max. limit indicate that
peel parts may have been used. Values below the
lower limit indicate the over proportional use of cores or
overdilution. The potassium content amounts to 35 - 50
% of the ash.

Magnesium (Mg) mg/l 70 - 250 The magnesium content is not influenced by

technology, because it is homogeneous over the whole
fruit. In connection with other criteria, low magnesium
values suggest that dilution with additional water may
have taken place.

Calcium (Ca) mg/l 50 - 250 The calcium content depends very much upon
processing technology. It is not homogeneously
distributed over the fruit: lower values in the core,
higher values in the peel.

Total phosphorus (P) mg/l 50 - 150 The phosphorus content is higher in the external parts
of the pineapple fruit. Therefore, the use of peel
extracts increase the content of phosphorus .

Sulphate (SO4) mg/l max. 100 Higher sulphate concentrations indicate, amongst other
things, unauthorised sulphur dioxide treatment or the
use of unsuitable water when diluting the concentrate.

Nitrate (NO3) mg/l max. 15 Pineapple contains different concentrations of nitrate in

different parts of the fruit. The core especially can show
higher concentrations. It is recognized that values
below 15 mg/l are usually achievable by the use of
good agricultural and technological practices.
Because values above 15 mg/l can be caused by
overuse of fertilizers and/or over-proportional use of
core, every effort should be made to achieve the max
stated value.
Adverse climate growing conditions can also cause
elevated nitrate levels; under these conditions higher
values can be tolerated.

Formol number ml 0.1 M NaOH/100 ml 8 - 20 All values examined are within the given range. Values
below 8 indicate dilution with water or over proportional
use of cores.

Water soluble pectin mg/l max. 450 In most cases the concentration of water soluble pectin
is below 350 mg/l. Values higher than 450 mg/l indicate
addition of pectin.

6.5 Reference Guide Pineapple Revision December 2010

Glucose g/l 15 - 40 The sucrose : total sugar ratio and the total sugar
Fructose g/l 15 - 40 content are naturally subject to large variations.

Glucose : fructose 0.8 - 1.25 If the glucose: fructose ratio is higher than the upper
limit of 1.25 it may indicate an overproportional use of
core and/or external parts of the fruit and, therefore, the
technology should be investigated. Values higher than
1.4 indicate addition of sugar with high glucose content.
A glucose: fructose ratio below 0.8 may be an
indication of glucose decomposition through
fermentation .
Sucrose g/l 25 - 80

Sugar-free extract g/l 15 - 40 Sugar-free extract means the total "non-sugars"

dissolved in the juice.
Values under 15 g/l, in association with peculiarities in
other parameters, indicate dilution with additional
water.

Hesperidin/Naringin In case of suspicion that citrus juices may have been

added, the presence of flavonoid glycosides should be
checked. Both hesperidin and naringin are not present
in pineapple and therefore suitable as an additional
indicator (for this the HPLC method IFU 58 has to be
used)..

Amino acids mg/l mmol/l* Characteristically for pineapple is a low content of

Aspartic acid 40 - 120 0.30 - 0.90 arginine and in comparison with other fruit juices a
Threonine 12 - 45 0.10 – 0.38 relatively high content of methionine and glycine
Serine 50 - 200 0.48 – 1.91 Proline normally ranges from 8 to 35 mg/l. If values are
Asparagine 145 - 1000 1.10 – 7.58 higher than 50 mg/l the addition of other juices should
Glutamic acid 20 - 120 0.14 – 0.82 be investigated.
Glutamine max. 200 max. 1.37
Proline 8 - 50 0.07 – 0.43
Glycine 10 - 70 0.13 – 0.93
Alanine 25 - 150 0.28 – 1.69
Valine 10 - 50 0.09 – 0.43
Methionine 30 - 85 0.20 – 0.57
Iso-leucine 5 - 40 0.04 – 0.31
Leucine 5 - 10 0.04 – 0.08
Tyrosine 10 - 75 0.06 – 0.41
Phenylalanine 10 - 50 0.06 – 0.30
gamma -Aminobutyric acid 15 - 100 0.15 – 0.97
Ornithine max. 5 max. 0.04
Lysine 15 - 60 0.10 – 0.41
Histidine 10 - 50 0.07 – 0.32
Arginine max. 50 max. 0.29

ISOTOPIC VALUES mg/l The general comment on isotopics should be carefully

read before interpreting isotopic values.
18
deltaD water ‰ SMOW min. -15 deltaD and delta O can be used for detection of water
addition to direct juice
18
delta O water ‰ SMOW min. -3 Normally this value is higher than – 3 ‰. Due to special
local, geographical and/or climatic conditions, deviation
from this limit is possible but do need an explanation.
2
(D/H)I Ethanol H-NMR ppm 107 up 111.5
to
13
delta C sugar ‰ PDB -13.5 up -11 In some cases (e.g. Ivory Coast) values have been
to measured close to -15 ‰ PDB. Pineapple is a plant
exhibiting Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) and its
delta13C content might be influenced by their
environment .
13
delta C ethanol ‰ -15 up -12
to

6.5 Reference Guide Pineapple Revision December 2010

Remark : n.p. = not present
* The range expressed in mmol/l is obtained from the range in mg/l by calculation

6.5 Reference Guide Pineapple Revision December 2010