USE OF DIGITALIZED IMAGES TO VISUALLY ASSESS COLOR OF COOKED SAUSAGES

A study was undertaken to explore the use of computer imaging to assess the color of cured meat products. Wiener sausages were manufactured to produce a color gradient. Increasing amounts of red carmine were added to the raw sausage emulsion (0, 50, 65, 100, 125, and 150 ppm) so that the extreme shades (0 and 150 ppm carmine) were clearly different, while the smallest color difference (e.g. 50 and 65 ppm carmine) was barely perceptible. Slices of the sausages containing 0, SO, 100, 125, atzd 15O ppm of carmine were presented to a group of 10 trained panelists in a standard lightbooth (065 lighting, 978 ± 21 lux; ASTM 1996) and the panelists were asked to evaluate the relarive color difference between each sausage and a reference sausage (65 ppm carmine), using the standard R-index multiple comparison test. The panelists were also asked to make the same evaluation while looking at digitalized images of the sausage slices on a high quality color computer screen. In general, small differences in shade (Δa* 1.0–1.8) were more ofen perceived by panelists when these were looking at slice images on the computer screen than when observing the actual slices in the lightbooth.