Colour evaluation of sterilized and unsterilized palm fruitlets mesocarp at different storage time

Abstract

Colour has been widely used in agriculture application in order to indicate the different level of ripeness and freshness of fruits and food. In this study, the freshness of oil palm fruitlet was evaluated by measuring its colour using colorimeter. Two types of oil palm fruitlets were investigated; sterilized and unsterilized, and the fruitlets were exposed to the environment for three days. The measurement of colour (in terms of L*, a*, and b* values) was measured using Konica Colour Reader on an exposed surface that was cut to specific dimension. The individual parameters of L*, a*, b* colour systems were measured daily for three days. The findings revealed that the unsterilized fruitlet showed the most significant color change after three days which indicates that oxidation and deterioration of the freshness continues to occur. The sterilized fruitlet did not show any major difference of colour value which can be explained by the inhibition of enzyme activity by sterilization process that causes oxidation. This study has proven that colour can be used to evaluate the freshness and oxidation of oil palm fruitlets. The findings of this study will be useful for palm oil industry to develop a proper palm freshness evaluation system.