Advances in heavy metal removal from fruit juices: implications for food safety and quality control

Heavy metal contamination in the environment has risen due to industrialization, posing serious health risks through food chain accumulation. Fruit juices, rich in essential nutrients, may also contain harmful metal residues, particularly endangering children due to their higher consumption. Ensuring food safety requires thorough investigation and effective removal of heavy metals to protect public health and promote informed nutrition choices. To make food safe for human consumption, researchers have been working tirelessly to remove impurities from it. This paper reviews the current state of research on the various sources of heavy metal contamination in juices, its health implications and various methods employed to remove heavy metals (physical, chemical, biological and nonthermal). Besides, advanced emerging technologies like nanotechnology, membrane filtration, electrochemical methods, cold plasma, and ozone for the removal of heavy metals have also been discussed. Ozone removes heavy metals from fruit juices through oxidation, where it reacts with metal ions to form insoluble oxides or hydroxides that can be easily filtered out. Cold plasma generates reactive species that interact with heavy metal ions in fruit juices, inducing redox reactions that convert them into less soluble or volatile forms for easy removal.