Colour measurements by computer vision for food quality control - A review

Colour is the first quality attribute of food evaluated by consumers, and is therefore an important component of food quality relevant to market acceptance. Rapid and objective measurement of food colour is required in quality control for the commercial grading of products. Computer vision is a promising technique currently investigated for food colour measurement, especially with the ability of providing a detailed characterization of colour uniformity at pixel-based level. This paper reviews the fundamentals and applications of computer vision for food colour measurement. Introduction of colour space and traditional colour measurements is also given. At last, advantages and disadvantages of computer vision for colour measurement are analyzed and its future trends are proposed.