SummaryCavendish bananas were stored at 8°, 11° and 14°C for 16 d to compare the assessment of chilling injury by visual scoring or by Minolta colorimeter using measurements of lightness (L*), chroma (C*) and hue (h°). Severe chilling damage, which turns the ripe peel grey/black, was associated with fruits stored at 8°C, and this damage was detected by both scoring and by the use of the colorimeter, even when fruits were green. Apart from the absence of glossy yellow appearance of the ripe fruits, no visual chilling damage was observed when fruits were stored at 11°C. In contrast, the colour components of L* and C* were successfully used to detect chilling injury at the green stage, which resulted in loss of gloss on ripe fruit following storage at 11°C. No significant difference in linear regression between temperature and h° indicates that h° is not a suitable measure of chilling damage. The highest correlation coefficient between the visual scoring of chilling damage and a colorimeter value was for C* ...