Abstract

Consumer acceptance of fresh-cut nectarines may be related to several characteristics (freshness, overallbrowning) that can be measured with suitable sensors. In this paper, digital image analysis was used toassess quality and marketability of fresh-cut nectarines, stored in air for 12 d at 5 oC. Visual appearanceand colour were measured using a conventional colorimeter and a computer vision system. In addition, anumber of fruit were analyzed for pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, total phenols and antioxidantcontent. During storage, nectarine slices showed a loss in appearance; after 12 d slices which were brown,having lost their freshness, showed a mean 30% decrease in total phenolics and a mean 10% increase inantioxidant activity with respect to fresh slices (13.7 ± 4.3 mg gallic acid 100 g-1 f.w. and 53.5 ± 5.2 molTE 100 g-1 f.w.). Visual appearance correlated significantly with the browning score (R2 = 0.78), titratableacidity (R2 = 0.45) and pH (R2 = 0.85). Correlation of the visual appearance score with the colour parametersb* and chroma measured by the computer vision system was higher (R2 = 0.76) than that obtainedusing a colorimeter (R2 = 0.57). The results showed that the computer vision system was more effectivethan the colorimetric method. Measurements by means of the computer vision system resulted in a reliabletool to determine quality and marketability of fresh-cut nectarines in an objective and quantitativeway. Moreover, the proposed computer vision system is suitable for real-time application in the foodprocessing industry.

Autore Pugliese

• Pace Bernardo , Cefola Maria , Attolico Giovanni

Tutti gli autori

• Pace B.; Cefola M.; Renna F.; Attolico G.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Postharvest biology and technology

Anno di pubblicazione

2011

ISSN

0925-5214

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

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Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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