EFFECT OF STRAWBERRY (Fragaria X ananassa) JUICE CONCENTRATION ON THE QUALITY OF YAKULT

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of strawberry juice concentration on the quality of Yakult. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a single factor experiment was used, testing six levels of strawberry juice concentration: 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%, with three replications. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a 5% significance level with Co-Stat software, and significant differences were further examined using Honest Significant Difference (HSD) tests. The observed parameters included chemical (pH), microbiological (total lactic acid bacteria, LAB), and organoleptic characteristics (color, aroma, taste, and texture) using both hedonic and scoring methods. Results indicated that strawberry juice addition significantly affected all quality parameters: pH, total LAB, and organoleptic properties. The addition of 15% strawberry juice produced Yakult with the best quality, yielding a pH of 3.92, total LAB of 9.79 log CFU/mL, and organoleptic scores indicating a pink color, slightly strawberry aroma, slightly sour taste, and slightly thick texture. Panelists moderately to highly favored the color, taste, texture, and aroma of this formulation.