LWT - Food Science and Technology 59 (2014) 1220e1226

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LWT - Food Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lwt

Measurement parameter of color on yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)

slices using a computer vision system
~ a a, Raúl Siche b, *, Wilson Castro c, Rosmer Huama
Erick Saldan n d, Roberto Quevedo e
a ~o Paulo, Piracicaba City, SP 13418-900, Brazil
Department of Agro-industry, Food and Nutrition, “Luiz de Queiroz” Agricultural College, University of Sa
b
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Av. Juan Pablo II s/n. Ciudad Universitaria, Trujillo, Peru
c
Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Pampas de Higos Urco S/N, Ciudad
Universitaria, Amazonas, Peru
d
Escola de Química e Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, Av. Italia km 8, Campos Carreiros s/n. Rio Grande, Brazil
e
Food Science and Technology Department, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The aim of this research was to design, implement and calibrate a Computer Vision System (CVS), for use
Received 28 January 2014 in real-time, in order to measure the color on minimally processed yacon slices. For this purpose, a device
Received in revised form (software and hardware) was designed and implemented which consisted of two steps: a) image
4 June 2014
acquisition and b) image processing and analysis. For both, an algorithm and a graphical user interface
Accepted 16 June 2014
Available online 24 June 2014
(GUI) were developed in MatLab. CVS calibration was performed with a conventional colorimeter (Model
CIE L*a*b*). Minimally processed yacon slices were obtained and stored at 5
C. Color changes were
estimated every 2 h, for 26 h, obtaining its color parameters. L* decreased from 65.9 to 60.8, with a
Keywords:
CIE L*a*b* color space
tendency to a black color; a* increased from 7.3 to 17.7, approaching a red color; b* increased from 35.1 to
Minimally processed food 41.5, presenting a tendency to a yellow color. Moreover, C* increased from 35.9 to 40.1, H* decreased from
Color system 78.2 to 66.9 and DE* increased from 2.6 to 13.2. Low errors calculated (eL* ¼ 5.001%, and ea* ¼ 2.287%, and
Yacon eb* ¼ 4.314%) ensure suitable and efficient application in industrial process automation and quality
control in the food industry.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Color is one of the fundamental parameters defining the quality

The focus on nutrition and health of the populations in Western
countries caused a great interest in the identification of new
functional foods and ingredients to prevent diseases such as dia-
betes, cancer, etc. (Yan et al., 1999). South America is a true treasure;
a source of a wide range of fruits and vegetables that are clearly
underutilized. One of these rediscovered treasures is the yacon, an
Andean crop that grows at altitudes of 1000e3200 m.a.s.l., and was
domesticated in the Andes by pre-Incacivilizations. The centers of
greater diversity are located in the borderlands of Peru with Bolivia
and Ecuador (Delgado, Tamashiro, Marostica, & Pastore, 2013). The
interest by said root has focused in its anti-diabetic effect because it
modulates insulin concentration in blood plasma and inhibits the
hepatic gluconeogenesis (Genta et al., 2009). In addition to these
health benefits, it has been reported to have antioxidant effects
(Takenaka et al., 2003).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ51 44294778.
E-mail addresses: rsiche@unitru.edu.pe, raul_siche@hotmail.com (R. Siche).
of a food. The assessment of this sensory parameter is crucial and is
a concern in the food industry (Du & Sun, 2004). In this context,
sensory properties of food can be estimated to the appearance and
color of the surface, which are the first visually evaluated param-
eters and consequently consumer relationship in the acceptance or
rejection of the product even before it enters the mouth (Pedreschi,
Leon, Mery, & Moyano, 2006).
Currently, new tools are being used to measure changes in the
color characteristics of food. One of these being the computer vision
technique projected as an alternative to the sensory evaluation. The
efficient use of computer vision techniques for food color and
assessment requires a calibration process based on absolute com-
mon colors for color data as knowledge of the image characteristics
that could correlate better with the quality product (Mendoza,
Dejmek, & Aguilera, 2006).
The computer vision is in relationship with the image process-
ing and analysis, allowing the color segmentation, quantification
and classification of elements of interest. The utilization of com-
puter vision as an instrument for estimating the changes of the
color characteristics on food is extremely advantageous when it is

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2014.06.037
0023-6438/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 ~ a et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 59 (2014) 1220e1226
E. Saldan 1221

used for replace the panellists responses for images taken with a connected to a computer Core i3, vertical position at 22.5 cm from
video camera and after processed and analyzed by computer al- the sample and an angle of 45
with the light source) (Fig. 1). The
gorithms (Saldan ~ a, Siche, Lujan, & Quevedo, 2013). Doing this re- lamps were arranged 35 cm squared above the sample and at an
duces the cost, time and subjectivity of color measurements, angle of 45
with the sample plane to give a uniform light intensity
making the estimation more reliable and scientific (Brosnan & Sun, over the food sample. In addition, the surface where the sample is
2004). located is natural rubber (black color).
The combining of a digital camera and its image processing
software that replaces the traditional measuremental instruments 2.2. CVS implementation
have been widely used to provide a cheaper and versatile form to
measure the color of many foods (Blasco, Aleixos, & Molto, 2007; The extraction of the color characteristics of the imaging was
Mendoza et al., 2006; Pedreschi et al., 2006). performed on a graphical user interface (GUI) created in MatLab
Few studies on inspection of processed fruit apply computer described below.
visuals, likely due to its lower economic interest in respect to fresh Yacon samples were conditioned in the CVS, the lights were
fruit and the greater complexity of the processing of these. How- turned on, waiting 10 min so the light is uniformly distributed
ever, the status of current inspection systems opens new possibil- within the system, and then the GUI was started. Followed by im-
ities for the creation of complex and robust algorithms capable of age acquisition and segmentation by thresholding to finally get the
running in real-time inspection lines. Therefore, it is important to color parameters L*a*b* from the RGB parameters using equations.
start to develop appropriate decision algorithms and methods that The first phase involves the conversion from RGB to XYZ (Poynton,
allow acceleration and optimize industrial processes, particularly in 1996) (Eqs. (1)e(7)) and the second of XYZ to CIE Lab color space
the case of fruit. (Eqs. (8)e(13)).
In this regard, it is of interest to use digital video cameras with
communication to computers for the color valuation in real-time If R=255 > 0:04045/r ¼ ððR þ 0:055Þ=1:055ÞÞ2:4 ;
allowing the processing and analysis of their images with the use (1)
if R=255  0:04045/r ¼ R=12:92
of special programs, so that the integrated system interprets in-
formation of manner equivalent to the human eye. Measurements
of the number, length, width, area, color, etc. of a particular food If G=255 > 0:04045/g ¼ ððG þ 0:055Þ=1:055ÞÞ2:4 ;
(2)
would be trivial. Thus, the aim of this research was to design, if G=255  0:04045/g ¼ G=12:92
implement and calibrate a computer vision system (CVS), for use in
real-time, in order to measure color on minimally processed yacon
If B=255 > 0:04045/b ¼ ððB þ 0:055Þ=1:055ÞÞ2:4 ;
slices. (3)
if B=255  0:04045/b ¼ B=12:92
2. Materials and methods Subsequently, these values were converted of rgb values to XYZ
using the matrix M for a D65-2
illuminant-observer (Eq. (4)). The
2.1. CVS design D65-2
illuminant-observer is a standard recommended by the CIE
and best suited to the lighting that was used (Blasco et al., 2007).
The CVS consisted of a wood box whose internal walls were
2 3 2 3
painted black to avoid the light and reflection from the room X r
(Pedreschi et al., 2006), illuminated by four fluorescent lights 4 Y 5 ¼ 100*½M 4 g 5 (4)
(Philips Master TL-D Super 80, natural daylight, 18 W, length 60 cm, Z b
2 3
color temperature of 6500 K, color rendering index close to 95%) 0:4124 0:3576 0:1805
and the capture system (Sony Handycam HDR-CX11E video camera, where ½M ¼ 4 0:2126 0:7152 0:0722 5
0:0193 0:1192 0:9505

* *
a and b
*
Fig. 1. Scheme for converting RGB images to units L* a* b* using CVS (b
L ,b b are estimated values).
1222 ~ a et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 59 (2014) 1220e1226
E. Saldan

Using the M matrix, are obtained X, Y and Z (Eqs. (5)e(7)). where P: parameters were obtained with colorimeter; parameters
were obtained with CVS; DP: DL ¼ 100, Da ¼ Db ¼ 240 (consid-
X ¼ 100*r*0:4124 þ 100*g*0:3572 þ 100*b*0:18050 (5) ering that 0  L*  100, 120  a*  þ120
and 120  b*  þ120); and N: 90 (number of measurements). To
Y ¼ 100*r*0:2126 þ 100*g*0:7152 þ 100*b*0:0722 (6) evaluate the performance of the model used, the overall error (e)
was calculated (Eq. (18)).
Z ¼ 100*r*0:0193 þ 100*g*0:1192 þ 100*b*0:9505 (7)
e ¼ ðeL* þ ea* þ eb* Þ=3 (18)
Subsequently, x, y, z was obtained (x ¼ X/Xn; y ¼ Y/Yn and z ¼ Z/
Zn), where Xn ¼ 95.047, Yn ¼ 100 and Zn ¼ 108.883, are tri-stimulus 2.4. Raw material and minimally processed yacon
values obtained by the weighted-ordinate method (Dl ¼ 1 nm),
with the CIE 1964 standard observer (10
visual field) and the CIE Yacon roots, from Cajamarca (Peru), were selected and classified
standard illuminant D65, as references (CIE, 1995). by size and quality (approximately 200 g of cylindrical shape),
After, varX, varY and varZ were calculated with Eqs. (8)e(10). eliminating defective roots. The roots were washed with tap water
and neutral detergent in order to remove traces of dust and dirt,
If x > 0:008856/varX ¼ ðxÞ1=3 ; if x  0:008856/varX and these were immersed in a sodium hypochlorite solution
¼ ð7:787*xÞ þ ð16=116Þ (100 ppm) for three minutes in order to reduce its microbial load.
To reduce metabolic activity, the roots were stored at 12
C for 18 h.
(8)
The roots were peeled and sliced (thickness: 20 mm), then the
If y > 0:008856/varY ¼ ðyÞ1=3 ; if y  0:008856/varY slices were immersed in a sodium hypochlorite solution (100 ppm)
¼ ð7:787*yÞ þ ð16=116Þ for three minutes and immediately drained for two minutes. After
the slices were immersed in an acid solution (1% citric acid) for
(9)
2 min and drained for 2 min. Finally the samples were packed in
If z > 0:008856/varZ ¼ ðzÞ1=3 ; if z  0:008856/varZ bags of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) film and stored at 5
C.
¼ ð7:787*zÞ þ ð16=116Þ
(10) 2.5. Measurement parameter of color on yacon slices
Subsequently, L*, a* and b* were calculated (Eqs. (11)e(13)).
The color parameters (L*, a*, b*, C*, H* and DE*) were measured
*
L ¼ ð116*varYÞ  16 (11) in three samples of yacon slices (stored at 5
C), every 2 h for a
period of 26 h. Once these samples were acquired and processed,
a* ¼ 500*ðvarX  varYÞ (12)
the images were evaluated (720  480 pixels) in rectangular co-
ordinates (L*, a*, b*). The L* parameter (luminosity) is an attribute
b* ¼ 200*ðvarY  varZÞ (13) by which a surface emits more or less light and can take values
Color measurements were expressed in cylindrical coordinates between 0 (absolute black) to 100 (absolute white). The parame-
C* and H* (C* defines the chromaticity and H* indicates the hue) ters a* and b* represent the chromaticity, where a* defines the
(Eqs. (14) and (15)) (McLaren, 1976). red-green component (red for positive values and green for
negative values) and the b* parameter defines the yellow-blue
 2  2 1=2 component (yellow for positive values and blue for negative
C* ¼ a* þ b* (14)  n et al., 2006). Finally, using SPSS 15.0 for Windows
values) (Leo
(SPSS Inc. Chicago, USA), these parameters were plotted against
  
H* ¼ arctan b* a* (15) time.

To quantify the total color changes, the total color difference was 3. Results and discussion
calculated (DE*) between minimally processed yacon slices (stored
at 5
C) for a time of 2e26 h (every 2 h) and minimally processed 3.1. CVS design
yacon slices to initial condition (time: 0) (Eq. (16)).
 The lighting condition is very important for image acquisition.
2  2  2 1=2
DE* ¼ Da* þ Db* þ DL* (16) Lighting was positioned vertically with an angle of 45
, thereby
preventing direct reflections to the camera when the sample
2.3. CVS calibration plane is illuminated. Fernandez, Castillero, and Aguilera (2005)
used this position to illuminate apple slices in where they were
In order to calibrate, the CVS were measured by 30 color charts controlled and its dehydration evaluated by the tracking of its
(with three replicates) which obtained the values of L*a*b* with color and shape. A similar system later was used by Pedreschi
Konika Minolta cr400 Colorimeter in parallel with the same CVS; et al. (2006) to illuminate potato chips in a system designed to
this subsequently measured the error of CVS in respect to the measure the kinetics of color changes under different frying
colorimeter. The mean normalized error for each parameter (P: L*, temperatures.
a* and b*) by comparing with model estimates was obtained with In the CIE L*a*b* color system used in this experiment, X, Y and Z
 n, Mery, Pedreschi, & Leo
the Eq. (17) (Leo n, 2006). depend on the geometric measurement, illumination and cameras
  based in charge-coupled devices (CCD); therefore, if any of these
 ∧  parameters changed, L*, a* and b* also changed. On the other hand,
N Pi
  Pi 
1 X each device produces its own RGB values for the same pixel in a
eP ¼ (17)
N DP scene. For this reason, attempts they have been developed for
i¼1
standardization of values known as the called RGB color space. A
color space used in food inspection, nearest to the human color
 ~ a et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 59 (2014) 1220e1226
E. Saldan 1223

perception is the Hue, Saturation and Intensity (HSI). Zou, Zhao, and
Li (2007) used both RGB and HSI for Fuji apples, and classified their
findings into four color categories. Abdullah, Mohamad-Saleh,
Fathinul-Syahir, and Mohd-Azemi (2006) converted RGV co-
ordinates into HSI coordinates, where the H* component was used
to classify starfruit (Averrhoa carambola) in four maturity cate-
gories. However, both RGB and HSI color spaces are not uniform.
This means that the Euclidean distance between two points located
in different color regions in these areas do not produce the same
difference of perception as the standard observer. To try to solve
this problem, we defined uniform spaces as the CIE Lab and Hunter
Lab, which are usually used for the color comparison (Leo n et al.,
2006). Mendoza et al. (2006) compared different color spaces
such as sRGB, HSV and L* a* b* in terms of their suitability for color
quantization on curved surfaces, proving to be more appropriate L*
a* b*.
3.2. CVS implementation
The implementation was done using a digital video camera
connected to a computer that governs the entire CVS. Typically
video cameras operate in the RGB space. The processing of each
picture begins with the segmentation process. Image segmentation
ratio of green and blue (G/B) was applied to each pixel, where a
pixel with a value above of the threshold value was considered the
sample and segmented from the background. This relationship was
established because the analyzed samples (corresponding to
minimally processed yacon slices) have very low blue values but
high green values, while the background always had lower values
facilitating discrimination. The pixels were converted to L*a*b*
space according to equations (11)e(13). This step represented a loss
of precision because the RGB space is limited in the number of
colors (limited spectrum). Moreover, there are many arrays for

Table 1
CVS Programming in MatLab.

Step MatLab command Description

1 Im ¼ imread ('name.format'); Read the RGB image and stores it in the array im.
2 img ¼ rgb2gray (im); Change the image to grayscale and stores it in img.
3 [NFIL ncol] ¼ size (img); Determines the size of the image.
4 for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1: ncol, if img (i, j) < 85, img (i, j) ¼ 250, end, end, end Change the background color.
5 Th ¼ 0.90; Determine the threshold (Th), for this is used imtool.
6 imbw ¼ im2bw (img, Th); Binarize the image using Th and is stored into imbw matrix.
7 IMGC ¼ imcomplement (imbw); Generate the complement of the binarized image.
8 IMGC ¼ imfill (IMGC, 'holes'); Fill existing holes.
9 [Imge n] ¼ bwlabel (IMGC); Tag and stored the image in the image matrix.
10 stats ¼ regionprops (imge, 'all'); Gets statistical information and stores it in the stats array.
11 Area ¼ zeros (1, n); Determine the area.
12 for i ¼ 1: n; Area (i) ¼ stats (i).Area; end Create zeros matrix.
k ¼ 0, for i ¼ 1: n, if max (Area) ¼¼ stats (i).Area k ¼ i;
13 Cn ¼ stats (k).Centroid; Get the centroid.
14 Deq ¼ stats (k).EquivDiameter; Gets the equivalent diameter.
hold on, plot (Cn (1), Cn (2), '* r'), hold off; break% stop process, end, end
15 POSP ¼ stats (k).PixelList; % save POSP POSP; [NFIL ncol] ¼ size (PPD), for i ¼ 1: Obtains information about the image position.
NFIL, x (i) ¼ POSP (i, 1), and (i) ¼ POSP (i, 2);
16 R (i) ¼ Im (y (i), x (i), 1), G (i) ¼ Im (y (i), x (i), 2), B (i) ¼ Im (y (i), x (i), 3); end Obtains values of R, G, B.
17 image (label2rgb (imge)); Displays the new image labeled.
18 IMAR ¼ double (R)/255; Save the image in the matrices labeled: RR, GG, B B.
imag ¼ double (G)/255;
IMAB ¼ double (B)/255;
19 [NFIL ncol] ¼ size (IMAR); Determines the matrix size and conditions the first part
for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1: ncol if (IMAR (i, j) > 0.04045); IMAR (i, j) ¼ ; of the conversion from RGB to XYZ.
((IMAR (i, j) þ 0.055)/1055)^2.4; else
; IMAR (i, j) ¼ IMAR (i, j)/12.92;
end, end, end, for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1: ncol if (imag (i, j) > 0.04045),
imag (i, j) ¼ ((imag (i, j) þ 0055)/1.055)^2.4; else
Imag (i, j) ¼ imag (i, j)/12.92; end; end end; for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1:
ncol if (IMAB (i, j) > 0.04045); IMAB (i, j) ¼ ; ((IMAB (i, j) þ 0055)/1055)^2.4; else;
IMAB (i, j) ¼ IMAB (i, j)/12.92; end; end; end; IMAR ¼ Imar* 100; imag ¼ imag* 100;
IMAB ¼ IMAB* 100;
20 X ¼ IMAR.* 0.4124 þ Imag.* 0.3576 þ IMAB.* 0.1805; Performs the second part of the transformation from
Y ¼ IMAR.* 0.2126 þ Imag.* 0.7152 þ IMAB.* 0.0722; RGB to XYZ, constants for the Observer ¼ 2
, Illuminant ¼ D65
Z ¼ IMAR.* 0.0193 þ Imag.* 0.1192 þ IMAB.* 0.9505;
21 var_X ¼ X./95.047; Transforms from XYZ to Var_X, var_Y, var_Z, using
var_Y ¼ Y./100.000; Observer ¼ 2
, Illuminant ¼ D65
var_Z ¼ Z./108.883;
22 [NFIL ncol] ¼ size (var_X); Determine the matrix dimension
23 for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1: ncol; if; (var_X (i, j) > 0.008856); var_X Determine the values: var_X (i, j), var_Y (i, j), var_Z (i, j)
(i, j) ¼ var_X (i, j).^(1/3) else
var_X (i, j) ¼ (7787* var_X (i, j)) þ (16/116);
end; endn end; for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1: ncol if (var_Y (i, j) > 0.008856);
var_Y (i, j) ¼ var_Y (i, j).^(1/3); else
var_Y (i, j) ¼ (7787* var_Y (i, j)) þ (16/116);
end, end, end, for i ¼ 1: NFIL, for j ¼ 1: ncol
if (var_Z (i, j) > 0.008856); var_Z (i, j) ¼ var_Z (i, j).^(1/3)
else var_Z (i, j) ¼ (7787* var_Z (i, j)) þ (16/116);
end, end, end
24 L ¼ (116* var_Y)16; Obtain L*, a*, b* values
a ¼ 500* (var_Xvar_Y);
b ¼ 200* (var_Yvar_Z);
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E. Saldan

conversion from RGB to XYZ. This is because there is a dependency

of the RGB working space in many algorithmic software (Adobe
RGB, Apple RGB, CIE RGB, RGB NTSC, PAL/SECAM RGB, sRGB, etc.).

3.3. Developed algorithm for image processing

An image analysis algorithm made in MatLab (Table 1) was

implemented in order to estimate the color and a GUI simple to
characterize the color on the flat surfaces of food.

3.4. CVS calibration

The CVS is designed to display the color as a result and this is

reproducible at any time. Small differences were observed between
the values of the color parameters (L*, a* and b*) obtained by the
colorimeter and the CVS (Fig. 2). It was also observed that the
model conversion from RGB to L*a*b*, obtained from images
generated CVS is reliable. Fig. 2 shows the relationship between the
two devices, with relatively low error (eL* ¼ 5.001%, ea* ¼ 2.287%
and eb* ¼ 4.314%). An error less than 10% indicates that the model
explains the experimental data acceptably (Gutie rrez-Pulido & de
la Vara Salazar, 2004). Also observed was a correlation coefficient
near one (r ¼ 0.9982), indicating a high degree of correlation.
3.5. Estimation and evaluation of the colorimetric parameters
Color is an important property related to the chemical compo-
sition and the degree of alteration of food over time. The different
values of Luminosity (L*) indicates that the reflection of the light in
a yacon slice was heterogeneous (Fig. 3). This may have occurred as
a result of enzymatic browning, whereby polyphenoloxidase (PPO)
catalyzes the conversion of phenolic compounds to quinones,
which are polymerized to form dark colored pigments (Sapers &
Douglas, 1987). When some fruit is cut, such as yacon, the cut
surface turns dark, reducing not only the visual quality, but also
results in undesirable changes in the flavor and nutrient loss (Luo &
BarbosaCanovas, 1997).
L* decreases as the samples are darker. Fig. 4 shows that the
samples are decreasing in value L* versus time. For example,
average L* went from 65.99 (0 h) to 60.84 (26 h), meaning that the
samples darkened.
The parameters a* and b* determine a plane which can repre-
sent the individual and combined changes in both parameters,
Fig. 3. Normalized frequency distribution of the colorimetric parameters estimated by
CVS [L* (A), a* (:), b* (C)]. The intervals show the mean ± standard errors.
giving an idea of the colorimetric evolution experienced by the
sample. The result of enzymatic pigmentation causes to a wide
range of L*, a* and b* values (Nicolas, Richard-Forget, Goupy, Amiot,
& Aubert, 1994; Robards, Prenzler, Tucker, Swatsitang, & Glover,
1999), being a* suitable for assessing change of color from green
to red in fruits (Castaner, Gil, Artes, & TomasBarberan, 1996). Fig. 4
shows that most of the a* values are positive, indicating a tendency
toward red. In addition, a* change from 7.33 (0 h) to 17.70 (26 h),
also interpreted as an approximation to red. The variation of the b*
was not as significant as for the a*, registering an insignificant in-
crease with exposure time (from 35.11 to 41.49, for 0 and 26 h
respectively) and a trend toward yellow. These results are consis-
tent with data obtained by Krokida, Oreopoulou, Maroulis, and
Marinos-Kouris (2001) and Segnini, Dejmek, and Oste (1999).
From L*, a* and b* psychometric coordinates H* and C* were
obtained. H* is the hue angle measurement and indicates the
relative orientation of the color with respect to the origin (0
)
(Chiralt, Martínez-Navarrete, Gonz alez, Talens, & Moraga, 2007).
H* decreases from 78.22 to 66.90 in the 26 h of treatment
(Fig. 5). These results indicate that the variation in the yellow-green
quadrant. C*, or chroma, is the measure of the saturation of the
color being measured from the center point of the color space, i.e.,

Fig. 2. Comparison among colorimetric parameters obtained by CVS and colorimetric

parameters obtained by colorimeter [L* (A), a* (:), b* (C)]. The intervals show the Fig. 4. Variation of the colorimetric parameters estimated by CVS [L* (A), a* (:), b*
mean ± standard errors. (C)] in function of time. The intervals show the mean ± standard errors.
 ~ a et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 59 (2014) 1220e1226
E. Saldan
Fig. 5. Variation of H* (-), C* ( ) and DE* (▫) with time. The intervals show the
mean ± standard errors.
the achromatic axis where a* ¼ b* ¼ 0, and along a straight line
extending outwardly from that point (Chiralt et al., 2007). The
change in color parameters a* and b* lead to a variation of the
parameter C* of the samples analyzed (Nicolas et al., 1994; Sapers &
Douglas, 1987), this being one of the major factors limiting the
useful life of minimally processed products. C* value increases from
35.87 to 45.11 in the 26 h of treatment, i.e. yacon slices become
more chromatic, with a tendency towards a combination of red-
yellow.
The color total difference (DE*) in CIE L*a*b* is the distance
between the locations of color in the CIE. In recent studies, the total
color difference (DE*) has been used in the determination of the
color change in various foods during processing and storage:
thermal and non-thermal processing of apple cider (Choi & Nielsen,
2005), dried carrot and garlic using microwave and infrared (Baysal,
Icier, Ersus, & Yıldız, 2003), dried kiwi with hot air and microwave
(Maskan, 2001), among others. In this research, the overall color
changes (DE*) of minimally processed yacon slices increased from
2.57 to 13.23, showing a clear color value trend of: red, yellow and
dark.
4. Conclusions
The contribution of this study was to develop a new algorithm
using computer vision and apply this methodology to yacon slices,
which is an unexploited functional fruit. This algorithm provides
objective sensory information about color. Therefore, this proposal
could take charge over traditional systems based on subjective
color measurements like sensory panel evaluation, where influence
aspects such as fatigue, stress, level of vision, among others are
evident.
The algorithm implemented in the CVS enabled an estimate of
the parameters of CIE Lab color with low errors (eL* ¼ 5.001%,
ea* ¼ 2.287% and eb* ¼ 4.314%). L* decreased from 65.99 to 60.84
due to obscuration of the samples, a* increased from 7.33 to 17.70
indicating a red color trend, and b* increased from 35.11 to 41.49
suggesting a yellow color trend with time. C* increased from 35.87
to 45.11, showing a tendency towards a combination of red-yellow.
H* declined from 78.22 to 66.90, indicating a variation in the
yellow-green quadrant. DE* increased from 2.57 to 13.23, showing a
tendency to colors: red, yellow and dark. These results demonstrate
that the designed system based on image helps explain the color
changes of minimally processed fruit. Thus, this system could be
used to measure, in real-time, the color quality in foods and choose
1225
between those that have and do not have the required minimum
quality.
In future work, the computer vision system should be integrated
with an artificial neural network using colorimetric and morpho-
metric parameters of food. This integrated system would classify
processed or fresh foods according to their sensory quality, and
could even be used to estimate sensory shelf life of minimally
processed foods.
Acknowledgment
Our acknowledgment to Mrs. Annie Escobedo for his valuable
review of the English language.
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