This work aimed to evaluate the stability of the sweetened tropical juice of acerola, produced by the hot fill (glass bottles) and aseptic (packings carton) processes, regarding the chemical, physicochemical, sensorial and microbiological changes, during 350 days of storage (28 °C ± 2 °C). At the end of the experiment it was verified that the samples of both processes maintained an appropriate microbiological stability during the storage. The juice of the hot fill process presented a small increase in the global acceptance, while, the one of the aseptic process maintained, at the end of the 350 days, the same initial acceptance. Initially, the samples of the aseptic process presented better flavor, in comparison with the samples of the hot fill process, however, the juices of the hot fill process maintained stable flavor, while, that the flavor of the juices of the aseptic process was less accepted along the storage. There were still observed, chemical and physicochemical changes in the juices of both processes, showing the samples of the hot fill process greater stability.
acerola juice; hot fill; aseptic; shelf life
