Comparison of optical and physical measurements with sensory assessment of the ripeness of tomato fruit Lycopersicon esculentum

Abstract

Knowledge of the inter-relationships among objective physical and optical measurements and their relation with sensory perception of foods can be applied to improve quality control and consumer acceptance. Changes in the optical and mechanical properties of tomatoes were found to be related to the perceived ripeness of the fruit over a storage period. The sensory attributes and instrumental parameters significant in the assessment of ripening tomatoes were translucency, green, orange, lightness, hue and chroma. The chromatic co-ordinate a ∗ was significantly correlated with the mechanical modulus of the fruit, which in turn was inversely related to ripening associated with colour changes from green to red. It is feasible that mechanical and optical data may be combined to provide an on-line system for the evaluation of ripeness of tomato fruit.