## 3 Results and Discussion
### Tittatable Acidity  
The different packaging had a significant (\(p<0.001\)) influence on the tittatable acidity (TA) of the tomatoes. The EPS Tray + PVC wrap at cold storage had the lowest reduction in TA from 0.51% to 0.38%, while the Unpackaged (control) tomatoes at ambient storage had the highest reduction from 0.51% to 0.23% within 28 days. Ref. [32] reported that the packaging significantly affects the TA and that the TA decreases in the fruit, while the pH increases as the fruit storage time progress toward senescence. Tomato samples packaged and stored under cold storage conditions had higher TA values, with an average of 0.42%, than the TA values averaging 0.36% of tomato samples stored under ambient storage conditions. The results also show that, as the storage period progressed, the TA declined, with the highest TA values recorded on Day 0 (0.51%) and the lowest TA values recorded on Day 28 (0.30%). Similar results were reported by [34] where the tittatable acidity decreases with time. Ref. [35] reported that a reduction of the TA as the storage time progresses can be attributed to the use of tittatable acids by the respiration processes and  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Packaging Treatment**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Storage Conditions**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Storage Period (Days)**} \\  & & **0** & **7** & **14** & **21** & **28** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{SP Tray + PVC wrap} & Cold & 155.5 v & 133.6 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 123.7 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 116.8 \(\pm\) 16.83 f-n & 107.3 \(\pm\) 2.63 c-d \\  & Ambient & 155.5 v & 129.5 \(\pm\) 0.01 m-d & 116.0 \(\pm\) 0.06 f-n & 105.8 \(\pm\) 1.72 c-h & 101.1 \(\pm\) 0.01 c-g \\  & Cold & 155.5 v & 143.9 \(\pm\) 5.64 s-v & 128.1 \(\pm\) 0.01 m-d & 119.0 \(\pm\) 0.01 s-p & 112.0 \(\pm\) 0.01 s-d \\  & Ambient & 155.5 & 126.3 \(\pm\) 24.83 k-d & 115.4 \(\pm\) 0.01 f-n & 113.4 \(\pm\) 9.92 e-m & 103.4 \(\pm\) 1.60 c-g \\  & Cold & 155.5 v & 135.6 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 127.0 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 124.2 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 106.6 \(\pm\) 0.01 c-g \\  & Ambient & 155.5 v & 129.5 \(\pm\) 27.00 m-d & 123.6 \(\pm\) 12.28 n-d & 96.2 \(\pm\) 19.25 g-n & 92.8 \(\pm\) 2.52 bad \\  & Cold & 155.5 v & 145.9 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 133.8 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 128.6 \(\pm\) 1.73 l-s & 99.8 \(\pm\) 19.60 c-f \\  & Ambient & 155.5 w & 136.1 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 126.1 \(\pm\) 0.01 k-d & 116.6 \(\pm\) 0.01 f-n & 103.4 \(\pm\) 12.61 c-g \\  & Cold & 155.5 w & 129.9 \(\pm\) 8.87 m-d & 129.5 \(\pm\) 0.01 m-d & 112.9 \(\pm\) 4.41 e-m & 108.6 \(\pm\) 0.01 d-i \\  & Ambient & 155.5 w & 116.2 \(\pm\) 0.01 f-n & 113.9 \(\pm\) 15.00 f-n & 81.6 \(\pm\) 13.75 h-g & 93.7 \(\pm\) 0.64 bad \\ Unpackaged (Control) & Cold & 155.5 w & 138.8 \(\pm\) 3.64 s-u & 124.7 \(\pm\) 6.01 n-d & 110.9 \(\pm\) 5.06 s-i & 105.5 \(\pm\) 13.20 c-g \\  & Ambient & 155.5 w & 134.8 \(\pm\) 0.01 n-d & 107.5 \(\pm\) 0.01 c-j & 90.5 \(\pm\) 22.04 k-d & 72.8 \(\pm\) 21.53 s \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Values are means of three replications \(\pm\) standard deviation. Means followed by the same letter(s) within a column are not significant. [PERSON]’s multiple range test (\(p<0.05\)). SP = stamped paper tray: EPS = expandable polystyrene: PVC = polyvinyl chloride: PP = polypropylene.  
\end{table}
Table 2: Compression (N) test of tomatoes influenced by the packaging and storage conditions over a 28-day storage period (\(n=3\)).  
the metabolism of tomatoes. The Titratable Acidity (TA) values ranged from 0.51 to 0.24% (Table 4), which is similar to those of the field-grown tomatoes reported by [36].