White pepper is one of the black pepper’s value-added forms. It is highly valued due to its attractive creamy white colour and freedom from microbial contamination, making it ideal for many food preparations. Pepper is one of the world’s most popular food flavorings ingredients, and it shares a presence  with salt on most dinner tables. The  state of Sarawak supplies more than 95% of the total production of white pepper in Malaysia. The retting method is defined as the fibre extraction that involves decomposition by the microbiological method of the cementing material or dissolution by chemical method in which  the  fibre  bundles  are  loosened  from  the  adhering  tissues  and  extracted  by  washing. This study assesses the effects of flowing water on soaking water quality during the retting process of pepper berries. Generally, organic matter and the bioactive compounds that  naturally  exist  in  pepper  may  have  leached  out  into  the  soaking  water  because  of  the prolonged retting process. Daily samplings were carried out by triplicate water samples for seven consecutive days.

The soaking test was carried out by having 5 kg of pepper berries under the flowing water with a flow rate of 70 L/min. Six parameters were measured based on  standard  methods:  pH,  turbidity,  dissolved  oxygen,  chemical  oxygen  demand,  total dissolved solids, and colour. The  results showed  the changes of soaking  water in turbidity (from  13.73 ± 0.85  NTU  to  33.53 ± 0.71  NTU),  pH  (from  6.95 ± 0.02  to  6.23±0.02), dissolved oxygen (from 7.75 ±0.09 g/ml to 6.15 ±0.02 g/ml), chemical oxygen demand (from 24.33 ± 1.53 g/ml to 27.67 ± 1.53 g/ml), total dissolved solids (from 39.53 ± 2.36 g/ml to 58.50 ± 0.65  g/ml)  and  total  colour  change  (from  0.53 ± 0.09  to  0.87 ± 0.03)  during  the retting process were corresponding to the soaking time.

As a result, this study reveals that the use of flow water for the retting process tends to avoid sedimentation. Also, it ensures the quality of the white pepper.

Megat Ahmad Azman, P. N., Shamsudin, R., Che Man, H., et al. Effects of Flowing Water on Soaking Water Quality During the Retting Process of  Pepper  Berries  (Piper  NigrumL.). AdvAgriFoodResJ2022; 3(1): a0000291.

Tarikh Input: 31/10/2022 | Kemaskini: 04/04/2024 | ainzubaidah