If you click one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Many instrument manufacturers can provide assistance in providing equipment for specific applications.This post may contain affiliate links. The product appearance may be a subjective phenomenon, but when it comes to color there are instruments available in the market. Applications dictate if the measurement of color becomes critical to monitor in process samples for color degradation or conformance to a standard. Artificial colors provide identity to the product, protect flavors and vitamins from damage, or are used for decorative purposes.Ĭolors, either natural or synthetic lakes or dyes, have inherent properties and applications. Others use artificial colors to mask natural variations in color or enhance naturally occurring color. Colors are added to food to offset color loss due to light, air, extreme temperatures, storage, and moisture. This adds complexity to the color consistency expectations.Īrtificial colors added to food have their inherent drawbacks. Some naturally occurring colors also degrade based on exposure to heat, sunlight, processing conditions, and storage.
Knowing variability exists with the color is hard to explain to a consumer who has expectations on the end-product’s visual appearance. For example, cinnamon’s flavor may be perceived to be meeting the aroma specification, but the color is variant based on the region the cinnamon is harvested, bark color, age of the bark, intentional contamination, and country of origin. Any visual examination or comparing of colors has inherent constraints and are product dependent.Īgricultural commodities may have batch to batch variation and getting a consistent supply may be more critical. The Natural Color System Digital Atlas also has more than 1,950 colors that can be used to compare colors. Food manufacturers use Royal Horticultural Society’s color charts to standardize food colors. Applications include dairy products such as milk, cheese, egg yolk, beef fruits, and vegetables. The color system divides hue into 100 equal divisions around the color circle. Another system called Munsell is used by the USDA. All these affect variability,” he adds.Ī subjective evaluation system can include matching the colors, Pantone color matching system, and actual photos of finished or raw materials. “Judgment is influenced by lighting, visual deficiencies of the eye, or in a trained panel based on repeatability. “There are disadvantages associated with visual examination,” comments Ramon Navoa, the director of innovation at American Easier said than done is the quick approach to check colors with the naked eye. Subjective Evaluation of ColorsĬolor in raw materials or in finished goods is important to a food processor. In food, effect of color is very important to “determine effects of raw ingredients to the finished product its shelf life or changes due to processing ensure suppliers are guaranteeing a consistent colored material and determine if the final product meets internal quality standards established,” says Cliff Walsh, operations director at American Licorice Company. Various manufacturers of colorimeters and spectrophotometers market their equipment as portable, benchtop, and in-process equipment. To detect the color, either the human eye or the instrument used must be capable of recognizing the object and translate the stimuli into a perception of color. Color is defined as the impact of wavelength in the visual spectrum from 390 to 760 nanometers (nm) of the human retina.
Consumer perception or purchase decision is made even prior to tasting food. Visual color is closely related to perceptions.
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