This study investigated the effects of thermosonication (TS) on the quality of blackcurrant juice, along with its physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds, antioxidant capacity, and microbiological and sensory qualities. The treatments included raw juice (RJ), pasteurized juice (90 °C, 1 min, PJ), and thermosonicated juice (480 W, 40 kHz at 40, 50, or 60 °C, for 10, 20, 30, or 40 min, TJ). The results indicated that the effects of pasteurization and thermosonication on the pH, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity of the juice were not significant (p > 0.05). However, the cloudiness, browning index, and viscosity were significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the color properties of the blackcurrant juice were improved. The total phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents of TJ (treated at 50 °C for 30 min) were increased by 12.6%, 20.9%, and 40.4%, respectively, and there was a notable decline in ascorbic acid content after the pasteurization treatment, while the loss was minor in all TJ samples compared with RJ. The scavenging ability of 1,1-diphenyl-2-pyridyl and hydroxyl radicals increased to 52.77% and 50.52%, respectively, which were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those in the RJ and PJ samples. In addition, both pasteurization and thermosonication resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in microbial counts, while there were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in the sensory parameters compared with the RJ samples. In conclusion, this study suggests that TS is an effective method that can be used as an alternative to pasteurization to improve the quality of blackcurrant juice.

The lotus seed and lily bulb beverage (LLB) has a problem with solid particle sedimentation. To address this issue, LLB was homogenised twice at different pressures (0~100 MPa) using a homogeniser. This study aims to investigate the changes in the particle size distribution (PSD), microstructure, rheological behaviour, sedimentation index (IS), turbidity, physicochemical properties, and sensory quality of LLBs after homogenisation treatments. The results regarding PSD and microstructure showed that the suspended particles were decomposed at high pressure with increasing homogenisation pressure, forming small particles of cellular material, cell wall fragments, fibre fractions, and polymers. The LLB showed shear-thinning behaviour and weak gelation characteristics (G′ > G″) and rheological properties. Among all homogenisation pressures, the 60 MPa sample showed the lowest sedimentation rate and the highest turbidity. When the pressure was increased from 0 to 100 MPa, the total soluble solid (TSS) content showed an upward trend, while the ascorbic acid content (AAC) gradually decreased. The highest sensory evaluation was observed in the 60 MPa sample in terms of overall acceptability.

At present, conventional cold storage facilities in China are poorly suited to on-farm storage demands for agricultural produce, mainly due to their large spatial requirements, complex and labor-intensive installation procedures, limited portability, and insufficient coverage in rural areas. These limitations significantly contribute to post-harvest losses of perishable crops such as cherry tomatoes. To address this challenge, the present study proposes a compact and temporary cold storage system—gas-inflated membrane cold storage (GIMCS)—which exploits the inherent safety, cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment, and adaptability of inflatable membrane structures. A series of mechanical performance tests, including tensile strength, pressure resistance, and burst tests, were conducted on PA/PE (Polyamide/Polyethylene) composite membranes. The optimal configuration was identified as a membrane thickness of 70 μm, a gas column width of 2 cm, and a PA/PE composition ratio of 35%/65%. Thermal performance evaluations further revealed that filling the inflatable structure with 100% CO₂ yielded the most effective insulation. Through structural optimization, a cotton-filled gas-inflated membrane cold storage system (CF-GIMCS) incorporating a dual insulation strategy—combining intra-membrane and extra-membrane insulation—was developed. This multilayer configuration significantly reduced conductive and convective heat transfer, resulting in enhanced thermal performance. A comparative evaluation between GIMCS and a conventional cold storage system of equivalent capacity was conducted over a 15-day storage period, considering construction cost, temperature uniformity, and fruit preservation quality. The results showed that the construction cost of GIMCS was only 38% of that of conventional cold storage. The internal temperature distribution of GIMCS was highly uniform, with a maximum horizontal temperature difference of 1.4 °C, demonstrating thermal stability comparable to conventional systems. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two systems in key post-harvest quality indicators, including weight loss and respiration rate. Notably, GIMCS exhibited superior performance in maintaining fruit firmness, with a hardness of 1.30 kg·cm⁻² compared to 1.26 kg·cm⁻² in conventional storage, indicating a potential advantage in shelf-life extension. Overall, these findings demonstrate that GIMCS represents an affordable, technically robust, and portable cold storage solution capable of delivering preservation performance comparable to—or exceeding—that of conventional cold storage. Its modularity, mobility, and ease of relocation make it particularly well suited to the operational and economic constraints of smallholder farming systems, offering a practical and scalable pathway for improving on-farm cold chain infrastructure.