ABSTRACTCitrus essential oils are used as flavoring agents in foods and beverages. Recently a premium price was paid for oils with a high carotenoid content because they were also used as natural coloring agents. Commercially manufactured samples of ‘Pineapple’ oils were concentrated 5, 10, and 25‐fold, stored for 12 moat –18, 4, 26, and 32°C and sampled periodically. The carotenoid content was measured spectrophotometrically with β‐carotene as a standard. From an initial value of 7.2 mg of β‐carotene/100g of oil, it decreased 6.6, 18.4, and 24.6 upon concentrating 5, 10, and 25‐fold, respectively. The 25‐fold sample lost 6 of its β‐carotene at –18°C and 90 at 32°C during 12 mo of storage. There was a highly significant fit of the time, temperature and concentration dat
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