Papaya cv. Sekaki is one of the Malaysian’s favorite commodities with great tropical taste.
Generally the papaya ripening determined through skin color changes. Current method for
the quality inspection is through the experience of operator. However the inspection from
one operator may vary to another. The main purpose of this study is to improve the quality
inspection of papaya for an efficient grading system. This study will improve the ripening index
developed for papaya by Malaysian Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) on the
skin color basis by comparing the color values between CIE L*a*b* and CIE L*C*h color
space. Destructive technique usually used to evaluate the chemical parameter such as total
soluble solid (TSS) content. A new improvised ripening index chart added with specific TSS
content and color values range. The relationship between color values and TSS was developed
for CIE L*C*h with R²=0.9674. The ripening index chart established allows papaya quality
attributes to be determined and evaluated nondestructively with the aid of colorimeter.