3.3. Colour parameters
Both the pressure levels applied and the refrigerated storage time
had a significant effect on L*, while there was no significant interaction
between these two parameters. Fig. 4a shows that L* values throughout
the refrigerated storage period were higher at 600 MPa than at 300 MPa,
with a similar pattern throughout the storage time. The storage time did
not have a significant influence on L* values; at both pressure levels,
after the third week of storage, L* tended to increase. In samples treated
at 600 MPa, L* values varied between 52.33 at the beginning of the
storage period, and 57.62 at the end. There was a significant dependence
of a* (P b 0.05) on the pressure level applied, the storage time,
and the interaction between these two factors. Fig. 4b shows that at
both pressure levels, a* reached its maximum values after two weeks
of storage, and then began to decrease. In the samples treated at
600 MPa, a* reached its lowest value (12.91 ± 0.80) after seven
weeks of storage; however, it remained above 12 throughout the
whole period. In the samples treated at 300 MPa, a* remained stable
at 16.47 ± 0.34 as of the fourth week. Similarly, Campus et al. (2008)