The use of colour indicator as a smart packaging system for evaluating mangoes Arummanis (Mangifera indica L. var. Arummanisa) freshness

The high demand and public sensitivity of packaging products need the emergence of various packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables. One of the packaging that can be applied is smart packaging. The aimed of this study was to make smart packaging indicator that can be applied to mangoes. The benefits of this research were to facilitate the consumer to know the quality of the fruit and to promote in choosing the fruit according to freshness or desired maturity without damaging the packaging. The research was carried out in the following two stages: preparation of solution as bacterial growth medium Acetobacter xylinum, (incubated for 14 days) and making colour indicator and application to smart packaging. The results showed that long immersion of bacterial cellulose with bromophenol blue solution was 24 hours and temperature of ± 30 °C. The colour indicator that has been applied to the packaging changed from blue to green colour for over-ripe product, which can be visible to the naked eye. The colour change of the indicators reflects the pH of the mango packaging. It was also in similar trends to the change of several parameters (total acid, and soluble solids content (SSC)) that was typically used to characterize the freshness of mango. In general, this indicator can be used as smart packaging.