Quality Assessment of Banana Ripening Stages by Combining Analytical Methods and Image Analysis

Abstract

Currently, the evaluation of fruit ripening progress in relation to physicochemical and texture-quality parameters has become an increasingly important issue, particularly when considering consumer acceptance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was the application of rapid, nondestructive, and conventional methods to assess the quality of banana peels and flesh in terms of ripening and during storage in controlled temperatures and humidity. For this purpose, we implemented various analytical techniques, such as attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy for texture, colorimetrics, and physicochemical features, along with image-analysis methods and discriminant as well as statistical analysis. Image-analysis outcomes showed that storage provoked significant degradation of banana peels based on the increased image-texture dissimilarity and the loss of the structural order of the texture. In addition, the computed features were sufficient to discriminate four ripening stages with high accuracy. Moreover, the results revealed that storage led to significant changes in the color parameters and dramatic decreases in the texture attributes of banana flesh. The combination of image and chemical analyses pinpointed that storage caused water migration to the flesh and significant starch decomposition, which was then converted into soluble sugars. The redness and yellowness of the peel; the flesh moisture content; the texture attributes; Brix; and the storage time were all strongly interrelated. The combination of these techniques, coupled with statistical tools, to monitor the physicochemical and organoleptic quality of bananas during storage could be further applied for assessing the quality of other fruits and vegetables under similar conditions.

Evaluation of the Quality Changes in Three Commercial Pastourma Samples during Refrigerated Storage Using Physicochemical, Microbiological, and Image Analyses Combined with Chemometrics

“…Pastourma samples were photographed digitally with a Sony DSCW800/B (IXUS 100 IS) digital camera (Sony Europe Limited, Edinburgh, UK) positioned at a distance of 15 cm from the surface of the pastourma sample following the procedure outlined by Sinanoglou et al [18]. For each image, three color features and fifteen textural features were computed from the colored and grayscale versions of the images, respectively.…”

“…Pastourma texture characteristics were measured using a texture analyzer (TA-XTplusC, Stable Micro Systems, Godalming, UK), according to Sinanoglou et al [18].…”

“…In this context, image analysis can be used to evaluate the appearance of food products, such as color, texture, and shape. Changes in these attributes can be indicative of modifications in the quality of the food product [17][18][19]. Similarly, considering the shelf life of a product, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy can be employed to register the absorbance bands of different compounds, giving a quality assessment of food products [17,18,20].…”

On the Assessment of Strawberries’ Shelf-Life and Quality, Based on Image Analysis, Physicochemical Methods, and Chemometrics

“…From the colored images, three color parameters (L*, a*, and b*) were extracted, using the rgb2lab function of Python's skimage library. From the grayscale versions of the images, fifteen features were calculated according to Sinanoglou et al [25]. These features were used to estimate and evaluate the color and textural changes that occur as a strawberry ages.…”

“…The strawberry samples were blended, and the produced juices were placed onto the prism of the refractometer. The TSS were obtained in Brix degrees ( • Brix) [25].…”