Consumer Acceptance of Philippine Orange Drink as an Iron-fortified Beverage for Filipino Women

Abstract

Ready-to-drink Philippine orange juice (POJ) prototypes were developed as iron-fortified beverages for evaluation of Filipino women from 4 representative communities in Quezon City, Philippines. Different formulations containing ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄) fortificant were produced such that 0, 10, 20 and 30% of the Philippine recommended intake for iron per serving were met. The respondents (n=72) were interviewed about their citrus fruit and citrus fruit-based beverage consumption and were asked to evaluate the acceptability of the different POJ formulations. Results of the consumption studies showed that citrus fruit-based beverages were more often consumed by the respondents than the unprocessed citrus fruits. Further, the fortification of POJ with FeSO₄ did not significantly alter the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the juice drinks. The familiarity of the respondents with Philippine orange as well as the high acceptance scores of the fortified beverages makes the commodity a suitable vehicle for iron fortification using FeSO₄ fortificant.