A Dimensionless Index for Quantitative Evaluation of Apple Freshness

Though the freshness for agricultural products is an important factor related to their quality management, this terminology is being used restrictedly because it is very subjective. In this study, a dimensionless index which had the span of the maximum of 1 through the minimum of 0 was proposed to describe freshness of the product with time-variant quality and was applied to Tsugaru and Fuji apples. First, the compressive properties having the linearity in their change regarding time elapsed after harvest were selected. For Tsugaru apple, bio-yield and rupture forces had high correlation with time while for Fuji, bio-yield and rupture deformations had high correlations. When the slope, or ratio of force to deformation, was considered, the effect of cultivar could be neglected. When the linearly time-variant compressive properties for Tsugaru and Fuji apples were involved in the freshness indices, they described well freshness of apples. Also, the freshness decay constant depicted a characteristic which related to freshness decay rate. Therefore, the freshness index can be utilized to manage the quality during storage and distribution of apples.