Production and storage stability of non alcoholic banana beverage powder

Powder for an instant, non-alcoholic beverage formulation was manufactured by sundrying and ovendrying of a popular dessert ('silk') banana variety. The reconstituted beverage was organoleptically acceptable. The effect of traditional sundrying on mats and ovendrying methods on product quality was investigated. Sundrying resulted in losses of Vitamin A, C and total sugar contents by 74, 91 and 63%, while ovendrying losses were 73, 90 and 62%, respectively. Nutrient losses during storage for three months in transparent polythene bags reached 93, 93 and 70% in sundried samples and 84, 99 and 55% in ovendried samples, respectively. The moisture content of sundried and ovendried samples increased by 12 and 17%, respectively, during storage. The increase in microbial load in this period was higher in sundried samples.