EFFECT OF FERMENTATION CONTAINER TYPE ON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL QUALITY OF FORASTERO COCOA BEANS (Theobroma cacao L.)
Keywords:
cocoa beans, fermentation, fermentation container, fermentation indexAbstract
This study investigates how fermentation containers affect temperature, humidity, and aeration during cocoa bean fermentation, and how these factors influence the populations and activities of microorganisms involved in the process. The objective of the research was to determine the effect of different fermentation containers on the microbiological and chemical quality of cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao L.). The experimental design employed was a completely randomized design (CRD) with one factor: type of fermentation container (wooden box, bamboo basket, banana leaves, polystyrene (PS) plastic box, polypropylene (PP) plastic box, and plastic sack). Observed data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA); significant differences were further tested by Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test at the 5% level. The results showed that the type of fermentation container affected the fermentation index but did not significantly affect the pH of the cocoa beans. Different containers produced different microbiological quality (yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria). The polystyrene (PS) plastic box yielded the highest fermentation index value (0.9), indicating that fermentation proceeded most favorably in the PS plastic box.
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