FOOD QUALITY ASSURANCE (FQA 402 L)

LABORATORY EXERCISE NO. 1

ISHIHARA’S COLOR BLINDNESS TEST

Name:  
Section: 
 
Abstract 
Abstract is a summary of your exercise. This includes the following: brief introduction,
objectives, materials and methodology, results and discussion.  

Introduction 
Make a brief introduction (2 paragraphs consisting of 5-10 sentences) based on
the pre-lab discussion or research on the laboratory exercise. 

Overview

Color may be the most important sensory attribute of food and as such holds a
pre-eminent position in overall food quality. It affects consumer judgement of other
sensory characteristics such as flavor, sweetness and saltiness as well as being an
important predictor of non-sensory quality attributes like moisture content, over-
processing and pigment content. In order to maximize the use of color as a measure of
food quality it is essential to understand the theoretical basis of colorimetry and be able
to apply it in a consistent and meaningful way.

Dr. Shinobu Ishihara was one of the first persons who designed a very reliable
plate test, introduced in 1917. He produced different test sets. Ishihara plates are still
widely used all around the world. (Fluck,2010). The Ishihara Test is the most well-
known color blindness test all around the world. It consists of 38 so called
pseudoisochromatic plates, each of them showing either a number or some lines.
According to what you can see and what not, the test gives feedback of the degree of
your red-green color vision deficiency. This test can only be used to detect red-green
color blindness.
Learning Objectives:
1. To provide a simple test for quick assessment of color vision deficiency
2. To acquaint students the pre-requisite test for evaluating appearance of food
specifically color

Materials and Methodology

a. Materials
Ishihara’s plate
Pen
Paper

b. Procedure
 1. The plates are held 75 cm. from the subject and tilted so that the plane of the paper is at right
angles to the line of vision. Access the test here:
https://www.color-blindness.com/ishihara_cvd_test/ishihara_cvd_test.html?
iframe=true&width=500&height=428

2. The numerals which are seen on plates are stated, and each answer should be given without
more than three seconds delay.
3. Perform the test in 3 sets: Set A (normal light), Set B (Dim light) and Set C (total darkness) but
analysis of results will be for Set A only

c. Analysis of Results:
1. If 17 or more plates read normally, the color vision is regarded as normal.
2. If only 13 or less than 13 plates are read normal, the color vision is regarded as deficient.
*However, in reference to plates 18, 19, 20 and 21, only those who read the numerals 5, 2, 45,
and 73 and read them easier than those on plates 14, 10, 13 and 17 are recorded as abnormal.
Results and Discussion (provide photos or videos)

Set A (normal light) Set B (Dim light) Set C (total darkness)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
Scores

Conclusion and Recommendation

References
Assessment Questions (Individual):

1. What do you think is the impact of color vision deficiency in quality control?
2. How can color blindness affects the perception of food?
3. What score did you get? Explain your results.