2.6. Sensory evaluation
Strawberry samples packed in clamshell with C-high, L-high and
RT-high were used for sensory evaluation. Strawberry from each
treatment was served to the panellists in a random order. The
evaluations were carried out under ambient conditions at about
25 C in a sensory evaluation room. Forty panellists (of ages 18e50
years) were given four samples at a time and were asked to rinse
their mouth with water between samples. The acceptability of
colour, odour, flavour, texture, appearance and overall quality was
evaluated using a nine-point hedonic scale where 9 ¼ like
extremely, 5 ¼ neither like nor dislike and 1 ¼ dislike extremely.
The fruit samples were removed from the refrigerator before
serving to allow them to equilibrate to room temperature. The
samples were labelled with three-digit random codes and placed in
small white plastic cups. The order of presentation of the samples
was randomized.
2.7. Statistical analysis
All experiments were conducted with triplicate determinations
and data were subjected to analysis of variance and Tukey’s-b
multiple range test (p < 0.05) using SPSS version 11.0 (SPSS Inc.,
Chicago, IL, USA) software.