Instrumental Color Measurement of Carotenoid-Rich Products
摘要
Color is one of the main attributes of food appearance more related to their acceptability. It can be measured visually as part of the sensory analysis or by using color atlases. However, this assessment is highly subjective. Color can also be measured with different instruments (spectrophotometers, spectroradiometers, colorimeters, cameras) and be expressed in terms of different widely used color parameters. In the latter case, an objective color specification is obtained. Color measurements offer a series of advantages that make them very appropriate for food analyses. In this chapter, different protocols for color measurement are summarized. They have been already used to measure the color of different carotenoid-rich products and to obtain equations that allow to assess their carotenoid levels from color parameters, which is important for quality control purposes.