Dave

Addition of lemon juice will by degree lower the pH ( increase the
acidity ) of the Aloe vera system. At best your going to get it down to
minimum of pH 4.00 (Citric acid) but probabley the pH will be higher. This
action will provide some degree of preservation in terms of antimicrobial
control but I think refrigeration would still be mandatory.

Acidification to this degree is however unlikely to retard Yeasts and
certain types of bacetrial growth for long periods.

If you are determined to be chemical free I suggest you buy frozen
concentrate at source and thaw as required.

Pasteurisation is an option, I dont think that mild heat treament has any
adverse effects on the so called Manones in Aloe vera



Best N10


"Dave" wrote in message
...
Hi

So would lemon juice be enough to preserve the product or would it need to
be processed too?

Thanks
D
"John Gentile" wrote in message
...
in article , Dave at
wrote on 6/24/05 5:04 PM:

Hi

After recent BBC and TimesOnline news articles saying how beneficial
Aloe
Vera is I have been trying to find an organic, chemical free supplier.

I have found one that says they use lemon juice to stabilise their
product
but another manufacturer, (who uses chemicals) says that's impossible
because as soon as you cut it starts going off. They say it must have
been
heated which destroys most of the nutrients any way.

I would value some unbiased scientific opinions (preferable in layman's
terms if possible) on the validity of these statements.

Hopefully this is the appropriate group to ask.

Thanks for any input given

D


All unpreserved juices start to decay as soon as they are taken off the
vine/tree/bush. Lemon juice - actually the Vitamin C, ascorbic acid - is
a
preservative that prevents oxidation. Herbalife used to sell a "natural"
aloe vera juice that had to be kept refrigerated. I'm not sure if it was
pasteurized or not.

--
John Gentile Editor, Rhode Island Apple Group
RIAG Web page: www.wbwip.com/riag/
"I never make mistakes, I only have unexpected learning opportunities!"