3.3. Fruit color
Chinese bayberry and strawberry fruit surface color did
not change significantly during storage. After 9 or 14 days
of storage at 5 C, comparable L and hue angle values were
found among all of the high O2 treated and the air control
fruit in both berries (Tables 4 and 5). Similarly, no significant
differences were observed in fruit color of strawberries
stored under high O2 atmospheres compared to air stored
fruit (Pe´rez & Sanz, 2000; Wszelaki & Mitcham, 2000).
On the contrary, there was a significant decrease in blueberry
fruit surface L-value after 35 days of storage at
5 C, indicating that the fruit became darker with storage.
Comparable L-values were found among different high O2
treatment groups and the air control group (Table 6). The
hue angle, which gives a better indication of blueberry
color, increased during storage. Significantly higher hue
angle values, indicating more blue color, were detected in
fruits stored at 60–100% O2 than in other treatments after
35 days of storage. Different change patterns of fruit surface
color in Chinese bayberries, strawberries and blueberries
were perhaps due to the differences in composition and
concentration of phenolic compounds.