How the color of game meat should be measured

Abstract

The ability of a computer vision system (CVS) to evaluate game meat color was investigated by a comparison study with color measurements from a traditional colorimeter. The experiment involved five different species: quail, wild boar, rabbit, deer and pheasant. The total color difference (AEI between the methods employed was so great that the generated color's) could be considered more opposite then similar. Positive correlation was observed between the calculated total color differences and differences ranked by the panelists. The CVS-generated color chips were more similar to the sample of the game meat visualized on the monitor, compared to colorimeter-generated color chips in all (100%) individual trials performed. Using colorimeter for color evaluation of lighter colored game meat was unrepresentative. CVS-generated colors were found moderately to highly similar to the actual color of all samples evaluated. Therefore, the use of a CVS should be considered a superior alternative to the traditional method for measuring color of game meat.