Balancing quality and safety: Optimising drying and sodium metabisulphite use in low-fat desiccated coconut

<br>Indonesia, asaleading coconut producer, generates asubstantial amount ofcoconut pulp from coconut milk extraction, which can befurther processed into low-fat desiccated coconut. However, the drying process induces browning, reducing its whiteness and overall quality. Sodium metabisulphite iscommonly used toprevent browning, but excessive use raises health concerns. Inthis study, the optimisation ofthe drying temperature and sodium metabisulphite concentration was conducted tominimise the browning while maintaining the quality oflow-fat desiccated coconut. Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with aCentral Composite Design (CCD), responses such asthe browning index (<i>BI</i>), whiteness index (<i>WI</i>), moisture content, yield, free fatty acids (<i>FFAs</i>), ash, fat, protein, total phenolic content (<i>TPC</i>), and crude fibre were examined. The results showed that both the drying temperature and sodium metabisulphite concentration significantly influenced the physicochemical properties. The optimal conditions were identified at62.505C and 380.059 ppm sodium metabisulphite, resulting inawhiteness index of87.219, browning index of5.1025, yield of43.125%, moisture content of2.3%, and free fatty acid content of4.45%. These findings highlight aneffective strategy for reducing the additive dependency while maintaining the physicochemical quality oflow-fat desiccated coconut.