Meat colour: Chemistry and measurement systems

Abstract

Colour is the most important meat quality attribute at the point of sale. It is largely the result of the amount and state of myoglobin with the red meats having much higher levels than the while meats. Consumers associate specific colours with freshness in meat. Colour can be measured objectively with either a colorimeter or reflectance spectrophotometer. The result can be presented as L*a*b* which represent lightness, redness and yellowness respectively. The subjective perception of colour can be determined by either trained or consumer panels. New methods using imaging provide an opportunity to measure colour rapidly during meat processing.