Biospeckle laser for assessing tomatoes ripeness indexes

ABSTRACT The quality perception of fruits and vegetables is a key factor for marketing and consumption. Quality determination is carried out subjectively by the consumer and with objective methods, many of which are destructive. The use of optical techniques and real-time screening, including determination of quality attributes by non-destructive methods, represents operational advantages for grading and selection systems. This work aimed to search for correlation between the tomato ripeness indexes with Biospeckle Laser (BSL) data. The epidermis color (CIE L*a*b), firmness, pH, Total Titratable Acidity (TTA), Total Soluble Solids (TSS), (oBrix), and respiration were measured. These data were correlated with BSL numerically by the Moment of Inertia (MI) and the Average Value of Difference (AVD). A high correlation was found with respiration and pH by the MI method, and with TTA, flavor, and respiration by the AVD method.