A Novel Chicken Meat Quality Evaluation Method Based on Color Card Localization and Color Correction

Mengbo You,Jian Zhang,Mingdong Xv,Jiahao Liu,Dongjian He

doi:10.1109/access.2020.2989439

Abstract

Among all the chicken meat quality evaluation metrics, color is one of the most significant factors directly related to the freshness of meat inducing the purchase desire. Biochemical tests for evaluating meat quality may contaminate or damage the test samples. Visual rating method is subjectively inefficient and difficult to realize online detection. Colorimeter has the disadvantages of complicated time-consuming operations, high technical requirements and expensive instruments. This paper proposes a low-cost, contactless chicken meat quality evaluation method by examining the color image of chicken meat. Specifically, the meat image is acquired by the camera of a smartphone. To eliminate the chromatic aberration, a pre-defined color card is put beside meat and automatically localized to extract the captured color information for color correction. Finally, the corrected colors of all the experimental meat samples are analyzed by hierarchical clustering to achieve 3 different quality levels.

Highlights

Meat color provides an intuitive impression of freshness, ingredient composition as well as about the presence or absence of falsification
This paper extends the limitation of capturing devices and environmental conditions while taking photos of raw chicken meat, and proposes a low-cost, contactless chicken meat quality evaluation method by examining the color image of chicken meat
By applying the global three-channel thresholding to all the meat sample images, the results show that the color blocks with number of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 can be extracted with clear contours

Summary

Introduction

Meat color provides an intuitive impression of freshness, ingredient composition as well as about the presence or absence of falsification. Aroma and taste are related to the final evaluation of meat quality, color is one of the most important metrics that affect the appearance of meat products and buying inclination. It is a comprehensive indicator reflecting the differences in muscle biochemistry, physiology and microbiology, and an important factor influencing the shelf life of fresh meat. When the raw chicken is put into the circulation of food and non-staple food chain, the food safety department and food processors have paid much attention to the quality control of meat. The color of raw chicken meat attracts the attention of chefs and leads to different choices while cooking.

Methods

Results

Conclusion