Color image analysis technique for measuring of fat in meat: an application for the meat industry

Lucia Ballerini; Anders Hogberg; Kerstin Lundstrom; Gunilla Borgefors

doi:10.1117/12.420903

4 April 2001 Color image analysis technique for measuring of fat in meat: an application for the meat industry

Lucia Ballerini, Anders Hogberg, Kerstin Lundstrom, Gunilla Borgefors

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4301, Machine Vision Applications in Industrial Inspection IX; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.420903
Event: Photonics West 2001 - Electronic Imaging, 2001, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Intramuscular fat content in meat influences some important meat quality characteristics. The aim of the present study was to develop and apply image processing techniques to quantify intramuscular fat content in beefs together with the visual appearance of fat in meat (marbling). Color images of M. longissimus dorsi meat samples with a variability of intramuscular fat content and marbling were captured. Image analysis software was specially developed for the interpretation of these images. In particular, a segmentation algorithm (i.e. classification of different substances: fat, muscle and connective tissue) was optimized in order to obtain a proper classification and perform subsequent analysis. Segmentation of muscle from fat was achieved based on their characteristics in the 3D color space, and on the intrinsic fuzzy nature of these structures. The method is fully automatic and it combines a fuzzy clustering algorithm, the Fuzzy c-Means Algorithm, with a Genetic Algorithm. The percentages of various colors (i.e. substances) within the sample are then determined; the number, size distribution, and spatial distributions of the extracted fat flecks are measured. Measurements are correlated with chemical and sensory properties. Results so far show that advanced image analysis is useful for quantify the visual appearance of meat.

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Lucia Ballerini, Anders Hogberg, Kerstin Lundstrom, and Gunilla Borgefors "Color image analysis technique for measuring of fat in meat: an application for the meat industry", Proc. SPIE 4301, Machine Vision Applications in Industrial Inspection IX, (4 April 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.420903

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