Progress in Coloration Mechanism and Color Assessment of Meat Products
HU Huang1, LÜ Fei2, DING Yuting2
1. College of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua 321000, China;
2.Ocean College, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
Abstract：Color is the most intuitive indicator to judge the quality of meat products. Color changes of meat products are
related to their quality and processing technologies. This article reviews the coloration mechanism of meat products and the
current indicators and methods to assess the color of meat products, aiming to compare the features and applicability of these
methods and elucidate the underlying mechanism for the purpose of providing evidence for the selection of methods for color
assessment of meat products. The coloration mechanism and color protection of meat products are the hot research topics in
this field such as the chemical principles of coloration of myoglobin, the mechanism of action of nitrite in the coloration of
meat products, and the factors that affect the color changes of meat products. Physical and chemical methods and sensory
evaluation are currently available to assess the color of meat products. The burgeoning development of computer vision as
an emerging technology has demonstrates its huge potential for meat color assessment.
