An analysis of variance was performed to assess the effect of the
operating variables on the CIELAB color values. Statistical analysis
showed that tray rotation had no influence on the L* and b*
parameters, but it had a 7.0% contribution to the a* value. In addition,
the combined effect of tray rotation and air velocity contributed
with 12.7% to the a* parameter (Table 3). Calculated a*/b*
values (Table 3) were similar to those reported by Shi et al. (1999)
for vacuum drying at 55 C and slightly superior to those reported
for conventional drying at 90 C.