Meat colorimeter application in the fresh meat industry

From:Linshang Time:2023/01/29 14:12:00 Browse:347

Fresh meat is a common food in life, and color is one of the sensory indicators reflecting its quality. By using meat color difference tester to determine the color of meat products, we can obtain the intuitive quantitative indicators of meat color, which can easily provide effective solutions for meat production optimization, inspection and testing as well as quality management.

Meat colorimeter
Meat colorimeter

The significance of meat testing by colorimeter

Color is an important factor in the sensory evaluation of meat products and the establishment of quality indicators. Using pork as an example, generally speaking the normal color is slightly red, its color shade is affected by many factors, and if the color change is caused by microorganisms, it is likely to affect the hygienic quality of meat.

And meat as an important part of the daily dietary structure, demand has been increasing in recent years. The quality control of fresh meat not only affects the quality of people's daily life, but also relates to the trust of consumers in the enterprise and even the whole industry.

The working principle and advantages of color difference detector

1、Working principle

The principle of chromatic aberration detector is to measure the tri-stimulus value xyz of the sample by integration, and then calculate the color coordinates of the sample and other parameters. Usually a filter that meets Luther's requirements is used to cover the detector, and then the relative spectral sensitivity of the detector S (λ) is corrected to the spectral tri-stimulus value X (λ) y (λ) z (λ) recommended by CIE. Through these three light detectors to receive light stimuli, you can use one integration to measure the sample's tri-stimulus value XYZ. Simply put, the color difference detector measures the color difference by measuring the color twice, and then calculating the difference between the two measurements to get the result.

2、Advantages

Detect the color change of raw meat, usually by two methods, one is the naked eye observation method, the second is the use of professional precision instrument method. The use of professional instruments for detection, compared to the naked eye observation method, will not be affected by human physiology, psychological and other factors. Can exclude the influence of ambient light, data evaluation is more objective.

Today, we recommend the LS175 large-diameter meat colorimeter, which is the preferred instrument for meat inspection. The large-diameter design is ideal for testing textured meat surfaces, and is equipped with a large touch screen for easy operation. In addition, the instrument can also be connected to the cell phone APP via Bluetooth or data cable to connect to the computer software for measurement, sharing, for backup data is very convenient.

Measurement method

The next LS175 large-diameter intelligent colorimeter as an example to introduce the meat color difference measurement method.

1. Instrument measurement

Power on: Short press the power button on the instrument to power on.

Equipment calibration: Close the equipment and the bottom cover to calibrate the equipment, if the instrument is used frequently you can choose to skip the calibration.

Color difference comparison: Open the bottom cover and put the instrument on the standard, click "Standard color measurement" on the instrument, then put the instrument on the sample, click "Sample color measurement" on the instrument to get the L, a, b, c, h values of the standard color and the sample color and the value of △E*ab.

△E setting: click "△E setting" on the screen, you can enter the △E setting interface, you can set the color difference formula and △E threshold value.

Save color difference comparison record: Click the upper right corner of the screen, rename the color difference comparison record and click "Save" to save the color difference comparison record.

Save standard color: Click "Save standard color" and rename the standard color and click "Save" to save the standard color.

Standard color input: Click "Standard color input" to input the standard color manually, you can choose to input the corresponding L, a, b value or L, c, h value and click "confirm" to input the standard color. This function requires the input of Lab value or Lch value measured by this instrument to be accurate.

Add standard color: Click "Add standard color" to add the standard color from the saved color.

2. APP measurement

Install and connect APP: You can scan the QR code on the instrument or the QR code on the official website to download, allow all permission requests after download, and open Bluetooth to connect the instrument in the APP interface.

Add sample color: Click "Add sample color" to select the color you need from personal color card library and electronic color card library to add to the sample color.

△E setting: Click "△E setting" on the cell phone screen to enter the setting interface, click "QC mode setting" to choose whether to check and set the △E threshold value according to your needs.

Standard color saving: click "Standard color saving" and rename the standard color and click "Save" to enter the personal color card library and select the corresponding color folder, you can create folders according to your needs, you can create up to 5 folders.

The rest of the functions of APP color comparison interface are the same as the instrument.

3. PC software measurement

Installation and connection of PC software: You can download the PC software of textile colorimeter through the official website or the U disk attached to the instrument, and then connect the instrument to the computer.

Instrument data transfer: you can read my color to PC, write my color to instrument, read color difference history to list, write standard color card library to instrument. 

Export data: You can click "Export to Excel" to export the data in the list to your computer.

Import Data: You can click "Import Data" to import the color difference data from Excel into the software.

Print Report: Click "Print Report" in the list to input information and click "OK" to print the color difference report.

Notes on the use process

1、Before use

Ensure that the instruments and equipment are clean and tidy, avoiding objects such as water and dust from entering the measurement aperture or inside the instrument.

Not used for a long time, the instrument needs to be calibrated before use, and the instrument does not need to be calibrated frequently.

The need to keep the white board clean and dust-free when performing calibration.

The base and the instrument correspond one-to-one, if the base is accidentally lost, you need to send back the instrument and re-match the adjustment.

2、When testing

Note that the area of the measured object should be larger than the aperture, because there is a texture of the measured object when meat, the use of LS175 large-diameter colorimeter can ensure more accurate data.

Can be connected to the cell phone APP to carry out "no contact" measurement, to reduce human error. 

Be careful not to use the instrument in a high humidity environment or water mist.

3、After use

After using the instrument, the color difference detector should be placed in a dry and cool environment and stored properly. Long-term non-use of the instrument, the battery should be removed to avoid damage to the instrument.