Chapter 10

Whiteness, Yellowness, and

Browning in Food Colorimetry
A Critical Review
ROBERT HIRSCHLER

Contents
10.1 Introduction 93
10.2 Whiteness, Yellowness, and Browning Indices 94
10.2.1 Whiteness Indices 94
10.2.2 Yellowness Indices 94
10.2.3 Browning Indices 95
10.3 Case Studies 95
10.3.1 Sensory Characteristics of Yoghurt 95
10.3.2 Whiteness of Surimi Gels 95
10.3.3 Yellowness of Mashed Potatoes 96
10.3.4 Drying of Onion Slices 97
10.3.5 Color Improvement in Surimi 98
10.3.6 Cheese Color 98
10.3.7 Color Evaluation of Pasta Samples 99
10.3.8 Color of Fried, Battered Squid Rings 100
10.4 Conclusions 101
Acknowledgment 102
References 102

10.1  Introduction
Whiteness is an important characteristic of many food products from milk
and rice to surimi and pasta. In many cases whiteness is desirable, in oth-
ers it is not. Deviation from whiteness may be perceived as yellowness or

93
94  •  Robert Hirschler

browning, and there are hundreds of articles (and some pages in a few text-
books) describing this phenomenon using whiteness, browning, and—less
frequently—yellowness indices. In a review of over 200 articles published
in more than 30 journals dedicated to food science and technology, we have
found ample references to the application of these formulae, most of them
related to the description of the change in some kind of technological or pro-
cess parameter, rather than the perceptual change of the white, yellowish, or
brownish color of the product.

10.2  Whiteness, Yellowness, and Browning Indices

10.2.1  Whiteness Indices
In the food industry, the most frequently used whiteness indices are L* (often
erroneously called “whiteness” instead of “lightness”) and

WIJUDD = 100 − [(100 − L*)2 + (a*)2 + (b*)2 ]1/ 2 (10.1)

(or the equivalents with Hunter coordinates), first suggested by Judd and
Wyszecki (1963). In many publications, the

WIHUNTER = L* −3b* (10.2)

formula with CIELAB coordinates (originally proposed by Hunter 1960, for
Hunter L, a, b coordinates) is used, but to the current CIE whiteness formula
(CIE 2004):
WICIE = Y + 800 (xn − x ) + 1700 ( yn − y ) (10.3)

we found reference only in two cases (Kotwaliwale et al. 2007, Zapotoczny
et al. 2006). The reason for neglecting the only internationally recognized
formula lies in the fact that natural or processed food products are very rarely
white enough to fall within the limits of its validity. In the two cases cited, the
WICIE values are negative, which is, of course, nonsense.

10.2.2  Yellowness Indices

The Hunter b or CIELAB b* coordinate is often used for the characterization
of yellowness. Yellowness indices are unduly neglected in the publications
reviewed; they report only in a few cases the application of the

100(C X X − CZ Z )
YIE313 = (10.4)
Y

according to ASTM (2005), where CX and CZ are illuminant- and observer-

specific constants, or the
 Whiteness, Yellowness, and Browning in Food Colorimetry  •  95

YIFC = 142.86 b*/L* (10.5)

formula often referenced to Francis and Clydesdale (1975).

10.2.3  Browning Indices

Browning index in the literature may mean one of two things: a simple indi-
cator of a chemical change (often characterized by the optical density at a
given wavelength or the ratio of the reflectance at 570 and 650 nm) or the color
change due to oxidation of a freshly cut fruit or vegetable surface, during stor-
age or drying, or the baking of bread. The simplest (and probably least ade-
quate) indicator of the color change is the L* coordinate (or 100 − L* or 100/L*).
The best known and most often quoted browning index is a form of excitation
purity that following the suggestion of Buera et al. (1985) is expressed as
BR BUERA = 100(x c − 0.31)/0.172 (for C/2 ) (10.6)

where xc is the CIE chromaticity coordinate and the constants were deter-
mined for given limiting conditions.
Feillet et al. (2000) calculated the yellowness and the brownness of pasta
discs from the equations: BIFEILLET = 100 − R550 and YIFEILLET = 100 (R480 − R550),
where the R values are reflectance factors for selected wavelengths.

10.3  Case Studies

Illustrating some of the concepts of using whiteness, yellowness, and brown-
ing indices, we have taken colorimetric data from the literature. Where not
enough details were given in the published work, the authors have kindly
provided them in private communications.

10.3.1  Sensory Characteristics of Yoghurt

Vargas et al. (2008) used the WIJUDD formula (D65/10°) to characterize the
whiteness of yogurts prepared from mixtures of fresh raw caprine and fresh
raw bovine milk.
As illustrated in Figure 10.1, L* and WIJUDD (very similar in behavior) are
very little sensitive to the change in milk composition. In this case, WIHUNTER
or WICIE shows higher sensitivity, but the color of the milk mixtures (except
for pure GM) is too yellowish; thus, WICIE is not supposed to be applied. The
most adequate would be either YIE313 or YIFC (which are in this case strongly
correlated, R2 = 0.9983) or even b*, which in this case behaves very similarly
to the two yellowness indices.

10.3.2  Whiteness of Surimi Gels

Xiong et al. (2009) investigated the effect of different levels of konjac gluco-
mannan (KGM) on the whiteness (WIJUDD − C/2°) of grass carp surimi gels
(Figure 10.2).
96  •  Robert Hirschler

100

Whiteness and yellowness indices

L*
80 WI (JUDD)

60 WI (HUNTER)

WI (CIE)
40
YI (E313)

20 YI (FC)

b*
0
0 25 50 75 100
% Goats’ milk

Figure 10.1  Whiteness and yellowness indices for yogurts made of different milk compositions. (Data
kindly provided by Vargas, M. et al., Int. Dairy J., 18, 1146, 2008.)

78
76 L*
Whiteness indices

74 WI (JUDD)
WI (HUNTER)
72
WI (CIE) + 30
70
68
66
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
KGM %

Figure 10.2  Effect of KGM concentration on the whiteness of surimi gels. (Based on data by Xiong, G.
et al., Food Chem., 116, 413, 2009.)

As there is very little change in a* and b* (and very low chroma for all
samples), the L* and WIJUDD values are very close. Other whiteness indices,
however, show a somewhat different tendency. It must be emphasized that the
differences are very small, on the border of perceptible differences.

10.3.3  Yellowness of Mashed Potatoes

Fernández et al. (2008) measured the effect of biopolymer concentration and
freezing and thawing processes on the color parameters of fresh and frozen/
thawed mashed potatoes and calculated the YIFC (D65/10°).
For their sample sets, the correlation between YIFC and the CIELAB coor-
dinate b* is R2 = 0.83, while that between YIE313 and b* is as high as R2 = 0.95
as illustrated in Figure 10.3. We shall see later that these correlations are very
highly dependent on the sample set in question.
 Whiteness, Yellowness, and Browning in Food Colorimetry  •  97

34
R2 = 0.8321 YI (FC)
Yellowness indices 30
YI (E313)

26
R2 = 0.9523

22

18
10 12 14 16 18
CIE b*

Figure 10.3  Correlation between b* and yellowness indices for differently treated frozen/thawed
mashed potatoes. (Based on data by Fernández, C. et al., Food Hydrocolloids, 22, 1381, 2008.)

10.3.4  Drying of Onion Slices

Arslan and Özcan (2010) studied the effect of sun, oven, and microwave dry-
ing on quality of onion slices. They measured CIELAB (C/2°) coordinates and
discussed the color change in terms of the individual coordinates. If we use
one of the well-known yellowness or browning indices, interesting further
conclusions may be drawn from their data: they rank the color effect of differ-
ent drying methods differently than the L*, a*, or b* coordinates individually.
Figure 10.4 shows that there is very high (R2 > 0.99) correlation between
the yellowness and browning indices, but very low between them and b*. This
goes to show that b* cannot always be used as a yellowness index, depending
on the sample set it may or may not correlate well with yellowness/brownness.

60
R2 = 0.9951
Yellowness and browning indices

50

40 YI (FC)
BR (Buera)
30 R2 = 0.9914
b*
20

10 R2 = 0.755

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
YI (E313)

Figure 10.4  Correlation of different yellowness and browning indices and CIELAB b*. (Based on data
kindly provided by Arslan, D. and Özcan, M.M., LWT Food Sci. Technol., 43, 1121, 2010.)
98  •  Robert Hirschler

10.3.5  Color Improvement in Surimi

Taskaya et al. (2010) investigated the color improvement by titanium dioxide
of proteins recovered from whole fish and arrived at the conclusion (based
on WIJUDD values) that the whiteness of restructured fish products based on
proteins recovered from whole fish via isoelectric solubilization/precipita-
tion can be similar to the whiteness of surimi seafood. The same conclusion
could be drawn based on L* values. However, if we compare the WIHUNTER
(Figure 10.5a) or the YIFC or YIE313 (Figure 10.5b) values, we can see that
surimi is in fact much whiter (less yellow) than recovered proteins.
This is an interesting example of how selecting the wrong index (in this
case WIJUDD or L*) may lead to completely erroneous conclusions.

10.3.6  Cheese Color

Sheehan et al. (2009) studied the effect of partial or total substitution of
bovine for caprine milk on the color of semi-hard cheeses. Their data (C/2°)

90
Carp gels L*
80
Surimi L*
Whiteness indices

70
Carp gels WI (JUDD)
60
Surimi WI (JUDD)
50
Caps gels WI (HUNTER)
40
Surimi WI (HUNTER)
30
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
(a) TiO2 g/100 g

30
Carp gels YI (E313)
25
Surimi YI (E313)
Yellowness indices

20
Carp gels YI (E313)
15
Surimi YI (E313)
10
Carp gels b*
5

0 Surimi b*
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
–5
(b) TiO2 g/100 g

Figure 10.5  (a) Whiteness indices in function of titanium dioxide concentration in proteins recov-
ered from whole fish. (b) Yellowness indices in function of titanium dioxide concentration in proteins
recovered from whole fish. (Based on data by Taskaya, L., et al., LWT Food Sci. Technol., 43, 401, 2010.)
 Whiteness, Yellowness, and Browning in Food Colorimetry  •  99

100

Whiteness and yellowness indices

90 L*
80 WI (Hunter)
70
YI (E313)
60
50 YI (FC)
40
b*
30
20 BR (Buera)
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bovine milk (%)

Figure 10.6  Whiteness and yellowness indices of semi-hard cheeses made of different compositions
of bovine and caprine milk. (Based on data by Sheehan, J.J. et al., Int. Dairy J., 19, 498, 2009.)

show that only the b* coordinate changes significantly; there are only very
small changes in L* and a*. For such a sample set, the YIFC and YIE313 are very
strongly correlated as are the BR BUERA and b* values (Figure 10.6).
Based on Figure 10.6, we may conclude that for this type of change the
WIHUNTER is the most sensitive and describes the same tendency as any of
the yellowness or browning indices (i.e., yellowness increases and whiteness
decreases with increasing bovine milk concentration). L* is not an adequate
descriptor of the changes in cheese color due to changes in milk composition.

10.3.7  Color Evaluation of Pasta Samples

Švec et al. (2008) evaluated the color of different pasta samples made of three
types of flour: bright M1 as well as semi-bright M2 were milled from common
wheat, while M3 from durum wheat. As shown in Figure 10.7, the number of

100
M1-L*
90
Yellowness indices or L*

80 M2-L*
70 M3-L*
60 M1-b*
50 M2-b*
40
M3-b*
30
20 M1-YI(E313)
10 M2-YI(E313)
0 M3-YI(E313)
0 1 2
Number of eggs used in pasta

Figure 10.7  Yellowness indices and L* values of different pasta compositions as a function
of the number of eggs used in the pasta. (Based on data by Švec, I. et al., Czech J Food Sci., 26,
421, 2008.)
100  •  Robert Hirschler

eggs used in the pasta had the most significant influence on the yellowness for
M1 (bright), less for M2 and M3. Adding two eggs reverses the yellowness of
M1 and M2 pastas as measured by YIE313 (and the strongly correlated YIFC, not
shown in the figure) but not by b*. The L* (lightness) values show little differ-
ences between the different pasta compositions, and practically no influence
of the number of eggs, so they are not really useful in measuring this effect.

10.3.8  Color of Fried, Battered Squid Rings

Baixauli et al. (2002) investigated the effect of the addition of corn flour and
colorants on the color of fried, battered squid rings. Increasing the amount
of corn flour seems to increase the yellowness indices (YIFC and YIE313), pri-
marily due to the increase in the a* coordinate, while the results for the b*
coordinate are rather erratic (Figure 10.8a).

38

37
Fried, corn
36
Pre-fried, corn 42%
CIE b*

35
0% 0%
34
42%
33

32
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
(a) CIE a*

40
0.011%
39

38 Fried, tartazine
Pre-fried, tartazine
CIE b*

37

36

35
0.011%
0% 0%
34
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
(b) CIE a*

Figure 10.8  (a) CIE a* – b* diagram showing the effect of increasing corn flour concentration from
0% to 42% on the color of fried, battered squid rings. (b) CIE a* – b* diagram showing the effect
of increasing tartrazine concentration from 0% to 0.011% on the color of fried, battered squid rings.
(Based on data from Baixauli, R. et al., Eur. Food. Res. Technol., 215, 457, 2002.)
 Whiteness, Yellowness, and Browning in Food Colorimetry  •  101

The increase in colorant concentration also seems to increase the yellow-

ness indices, but plotting the data on a CIELAB a* – b* diagram shows a lack
of clear tendency in the color development due to increased colorant concen-
tration (Figure 10.8b).

10.4  Conclusions
Whiteness, yellowness, and browning are important characteristics of food
products, either because consumers may prefer one or the other, depending
on the products, or because yellowness or browning indicates change in the
quality of the product due to processing or storage. In spite of their impor-
tance, these indices are very often used in an inappropriate manner (as illus-
trated by some of the case studies earlier).
The most widely used figures for whiteness are L* or WIJUDD, but these
seldom have the sensitivity to describe changes, and sometimes show ten-
dencies contrary to those found when more appropriate indices, for example,
WIHUNTER, are used. Except for some very special cases, the internationally
standardized WICIE cannot be used because the color of most food products
falls outside its limits of validity.
Very often the CIELAB b* yellowness coordinate is used as a measure of
yellowness (the higher the b* value, the yellower the specimen), but this does
not take the lightness dimension into consideration. Generally, YIE313 or YIFC
are better descriptors of yellowness. Depending on the sample set they may
be very strongly correlated (even with b*), but in other cases the correlation
may be very low.
The BR BUERA may be a good descriptor of the browning of food products,
depending on the sample set it may or may not be strongly correlated with b*
or one of the yellowness indices.
Many authors use the total color difference (�Eab* ) to describe changes
in color, but it must be emphasized that �Eab* can show only the “amount”
of color difference and not its direction. If it is important to show in which
direction the color changes, it is better to use one of the whiteness, yellow-
ness, or browning indices.
When choosing one or the other index, we should consider first of all
whether we want to measure a change in the appearance of the product or
simply follow a chemical reaction due to processing or storage. In the first
case, the index has to be related to a perceptual quantity (“whiter,” “yellower,”
or “browner”) and in the second, it may be any physical or psychophysical
quantity (such as reflectance, transmittance, or absorbance at a given wave-
length or a combination of these at different wavelengths).
Finally, we have to draw attention to the importance of clearly describ-
ing measurement parameters in publications discussing color. In many of
the reviewed articles, the authors do not specify the illuminant, the observer,
or the measurement geometry, and it is often not clear if the L, a, b or L*,
102  •  Robert Hirschler

a*, b* coordinates given refer to the Hunter or the CIELAB values (which are
most certainly not interchangeable). There seems to be a crying need for more
color education in the proper application of color-measuring equipment in
the food industry.

Acknowledgment
The author thanks Dr. Ana Salvador Alcaraz, Ms. Derya Arslan, Dr. Yi-Zhong
Cai, Dr. María Vargas Colás, Dr. Jacek Jaczynski, Dr. Diarmuid Sheehan, Dr.
Ivan Švec, and Dr. Mayoyes Alvarez Torres, corresponding authors of the
publications on which the case studies have been based, and to which they
have kindly provided measurement details and additional data.

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