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Coconut water is renowned as a refreshing and nourishing drink. Unfortunately, once exposed to air, it deteriorates very quickly, so it has to be pasteurised and bottled, which is costly and leads to a loss of nutrients. In an effort to boost the commercialisation of coconut water by small farmers, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has developed a simple cold preservation process with a training manual.
The cold preservation process recommended by FAO protects the natural flavour of coconut water. The process involves filtration, bottling and rigorous temperature control. It allows farmers to produce bottled coconut water that stays fresh from 10 days to three weeks. This will help to meet demands from domestic retail markets.
The process was developed and evaluated in Jamaica, in close collaboration with the University of the West Indies, the Coconut Industries Board and the Jamaican Scientific...