Oranges - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 400

recovered by stripping for the first effect of the waste heat
evaporator. d-Limonene is a volatile organic compound
(VOC) regulated by the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). Hence orange juice processing plants re-
cover it to minimize emissions and avoid fines. Processors
that document VOCs emissions below the maximum regu-
latory level can sell VOC emission “allowances” or credits
proportional to the extent of d-limonene recovery to plants
exceeding the regulatory levels. The amount of d-limonene
recovered from the waste heat evaporator ranges from ap-
proximately 2-4 kg/ton of fruit, depending on the recovery
efficiency and whether or not cold-pressed oil is produced
during (JBT) or before (Brown) extraction as well as on
the orange variety. d-Limonene is an excellent organic
solvent and has pesticide and bactericide properties. It
was commonly used in the semiconductor and electronics
industry but its market decreased as a result of high pricing
and the development of alternative inexpensive solvents.

an average 15.5 liters of orange juice each year. Oranges are
a very good source of vitamin C and folate. Orange juice
flavor is a complex blend of nonvolatiles such as sugars and
acids as well as the volatile aroma contribution of aldehy-
des, ketones, terpenes, esters, alcohols, and organic acids.
Oranges are processed into NFC or frozen concentrated or-
ange juice FCOJ. In both cases juice is pasteurized to inacti-
vate pectinesterase, the enzyme responsible for juice cloud
precipitation, and to kill pathogenic and spoilage micro-
organisms. Salmonella spp. is the pathogen of interest for
orange juice. Several by-products are commonly produced
in juice processing plants including dried peel that is used
as cattle feed, cold-pressed and essential oils, d-limonene,
pulp, and molasses. The markets for orange products and
by-products are very dynamic. The demand for pulp as an
additive for other beverages has increased in recent years.
The market for juice blends has also increased. A limited
number of small nonthermal high-hydrostatic-pressure pro-
cessing operations exist. The application of other nonther-
mal technologies for orange juice pasteurization has been
researched in several laboratories in the United States and
Europe.

NUTRITIONAL PROFILE AND HEALTH
BENEFITS
Orange is an excellent source of vitamin C, a very good
source of folate, thiamin, and potassium, and very low in
cholesterol, saturated fat, and sodium. Perhaps the only
concern regarding the nutritional value of juice is the high
concentration of sugars that are the greatest contributors
to its energy content. The nutritional profile of raw and
processed orange juice as given by the USDA National
Nutrient Data Base is summarized on Table 21.5.

REFERENCES
Anon. 1983. United States standards for grades of orange juice.
Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, Agricul-
tural Marketing Service, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Pro-
cessed Products Branch. p 1-15.
Anon. 1997. United States standards for grades of Florida or-
anges and tangelos. Washington, DC: US Department of
Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Fruit and Veg-
etable Division, Fresh Products Branch. p 1-17.
Arias CR, Burns, JK, Friedrich, LM, Goodrich, RM, and
Parish, ME. 2002. Yeast species associated with orange
juice: Evaluation of different identification methods. Appl
Environ Microbiol 68: 1955-61.
AFDO [Association of Food and Drug Officials]. 2009. Model
code for produce safety. http://www.afdo.org/ .
BIC [Brown Intl Corp]. 2011. Commercial food processing
equipment. http://www.brown-intl.com/ .
Braddock RJ. 1999a. Handbook of Citrus By-products and
Processing Technology. New York: John Wiley. 247 p.
Braddock RJ. 1999b. Single strength juices and concentrate.
In: Handbook of Citrus By-products and Processing Tech-
nology . New York: John Wiley. p 53-64.
Brown MG, Lee JY. 2008. Impacts of the distribution of house-
holds across income groups in a differential demand system
for orange juice. Empirical Econ 34: 567-84.
Bull MK, Zerdin K, Howe E, Goicoechea D, Paramanandhan P,
Stockman R, Sellahewa J, Szabo EA, Johnson RL, Stewart
CM. 2004. The effect of high pressure processing on the

SUMMARY
Over 60 million tons of Citrus sinensis or sweet orange
are produced worldwide on an annual basis. Oranges are
best grown in the subtropical regions of the world. The
largest production countries are Brazil, China, the United
States, Mexico, and the Mediterranean region. On average,
each year, 4.3 kg of oranges are consumed per capita in
the United States. The existing diversity of varieties results
in a long harvesting season from October to June. Among
several plant diseases that affect orange production, Huang-
longbing, caused by the bacterium Candidatus liberibacter
spp., is currently considered the worse threat worldwide.
Most oranges are harvested by hand; however, mechani-
cal harvesting is used in the United States, where labor is
expensive. Fungi are the main cause for postharvest fruit
decay. Fruit washing and fungicide applications effectively
minimize fungal diseases. About one-third of the world or-
ange production is processed into juice. Orange juice is the
most consumed fruit juice in the world. Americans consume