The tomatoes were grown under strictly controlled conditions
in greenhouses to avoid environmental stress because flavonoids
help plants cope with such stress. Controlled greenhouse environments
make it possible to obtain consistent quality and ripeness
in tomatoes. The ripeness of a tomato affects its taste (Kader and
others 1977). Therefore, ripeness was used as a covariate. There
were no significant differences in any of the parameters measured
attributable to consumers’ perceived ripeness (Table 1).