Color in tomato is the most important external characteristic to assess ripeness and postharvest life, and is a major factor in the consumer's purchase decision. Degree of ripening is usually estimated by color charts. Colorimeters, on the other hand, express colors in numerical terms along the L*, a* and b* axes (from white to black, green to red and blue to yellow, respectively) within the CIELAB color sphere which are usually mathematically combined to calculate the color indexes. Color indexes and their relationship to the visual color classification of tomato fruits vine ripened were compared. L*, a* and b* data (175 observations from eleven cultivars) from visually classified fruits at harvest in six ripening stages according to the USDA were used to calculate hue, chroma, color index, color difference with pure red, a*/b* and (a*/b*)². ANOVA analysis were performed and means compared by Duncan's MRT. Color changes throughout tomato ripening were the result of significant changes in the values of L*, a* and b*. Under the conditions of this study, hue, color index, color difference and a*/b* expressed essentially the same, and the color categories were significantly different in terms of human perception, with hue showing higher range of values. Chroma was not a good parameter to express tomato ripeness, but could be used as a good indicator of consumer acceptance when tomatoes are fully ripened. The (a*/b*)² relationship had the same limitations as chroma. For vine ripened fruits, hue, color index, color difference and a*/b* could be used as objective ripening indexes. It would be interesting to find out what the best index would be if ripening took place under inadequate conditions of temperature and ilumination.

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Las atmósferas controladas alargan la vida en estante del tomate, permitiendo su cosecha en estados de madurez más avanzados y a su vez afectando su calidad. El objetivo de este experimento fue estudiar los efectos que atmósferas controladas con bajas concentraciones de oxígeno y libres de dióxido de carbono y etileno, producen sobre el color, la firmeza y los principales componentes del sabor de frutos de tomate cultivar Diva. Durante abril de 1998, frutos cosechados con grado de color 3 (USDA) en INTA Balcarce (Argentina) fueron almacenados en frascos herméticos de 3 L a 12°C durante 36 días. El diseño fue completamente aleatorizado con tres repeticiones. Cada frasco poseía cuatro frutos, los que constituyeron la unidad experimental. Los tratamientos fueron cuatro, consistiendo en un flujo continuo de: a) 1%, b) 3%, c) 5% y d) 21% de O2 (testigo) completando con N2 hasta 100%. El color, medido con un colorímetro, evolucionó más lentamente y la firmeza se retuvo por más tiempo a medida que se redujo la concentración de oxígeno. Con 5% de oxígeno el color final no difirió del testigo, con 3% sólo fue igual al exponerlos luego a 20°C, no alcanzándose una coloración normal con 1%. Por otra parte, y en todos los tratamientos por igual, los sólidos solubles y la acidez fueron menores y el pH fue mayor que al inicio. El color y la firmeza preferidos por los consumidores (Índice de color »12 y firmeza » 65 KPa) fueron alcanzados a los 7 días de almacenamiento con 21% de O2, a los 12 con 5%, a los 14 con 3% y a los 21 con 1%, correspondiéndose con valores decrecientes de la relación sólidos solubles/acidez titulable. Esto indicaría que frutos externamente semejantes poseerían propiedades organolépticas diferentes. Los efectos observados estarían asociados no sólo a la menor tensión de oxígeno, sino también a la ausencia de etileno.

A study on quality changes of fresh-cut onions under different temperatures and handling conditions was conducted. High-quality onions were peeled and diced into 1 x 1 cm pieces. Replicated (3) experimental units (150 g) were stored for 20 days in glass jars in a humidified air flow under the following conditions: 0, 5, and 10 °C. To simulate rough handling, onion pieces were rolled with a rolling pin with enough pressure to induce some damage and stored at 5 °C. Objective (color, soluble solids, and dry and fresh weights) and subjective (visual quality, decay, aroma, and discoloration) measurements were taken every 5 days. Fresh and dry weights as well as soluble solid content decrease with storage time and temperature, but decay and development of off-odors increased. An overall browning was observed at the higher temperatures. Colorimeter readings indicate that b* and chroma increased with storage and temperature, while a* values decreased. No definite trends were observed in L* values, and no major differences were found in the hue, although hue tend to be higher with lower temperatures. Rough handling resulted in a faster quality deterioration rate in comparison with pieces stored at the same temperature. At 0 °C, diced onions could be stored satisfactorily for 20 days, although some quality changes took place. At 5 °C visual quality may be acceptable after 10 days of storage, but discoloration started to show up after 5 days, reducing acceptability. Storage at 10 °C only is possible for very short periods of time. Rough handling increases the rate of quality deterioration.