Abstract

The role of fruits and fruit juices in nutrition and health cannot be overemphasized. And as  consumers  look for better quality of fruits with regard to certain characteristics, new varieties are coming up to meet demand. It is against this background that this present study was carried out to assess the quality of MD2 pineapple variety with respect to the other varieties on the Ghanaian market. This study examined the physical, chemical and sensory quality of the MD2 pineapple variety compared to those of the sugarloaf and the smooth cayenne varieties on the Ghanaian market. Sugarloaf had the highest juice volume of 205.72ml/kg fruit, followed by MD2 (134-191) with smooth cayenne having the smallest volume. These differences were statistically significant, p<0.05. There were no significant flavor differences (p> 0.05); although there were significant differences (p< 0.05) in the overall preference for fruit juices which indicated that MD2 was most preferred pineapple fruit. MD2 compares very well with pineapple varieties already on the Ghanaian market. Its cultivation in Ghana has potential both for the local and international market and should be encouraged.

Key words: Fruit, pineapple, MD2, sensory evaluation, chemical attributes, fruit juice.