Tamarind juice is commonly treated with thermal treatment to inactivate microorganisms.
However, thermal treatment deteriorates the appearance and flavor of tamarind juice. In this
study, the performance of UVC treatment on clear and turbid tamarind juice as an alternative to
thermal treatment was investigated. Results showed that UVC treatment was able to reduce E.
coli O157:H7 by 7-log reduction but unable to completely remove the total bacterial population
as observed in thermally treated clear and turbid tamarind juices. The pH of treated tamarind
juices was comparable to each other. Nonetheless, UVC treatment caused significant changes
on the flavor of the juice as it significantly reduced the total soluble solids of tamarind juices
and decreased the titratable acidity of turbid tamarind juice. However, UVC treatments retained
the appearance i.e. turbidity and color of tamarind juices better than thermal treatment.