Spectro 1—A Potential Spectrophotometer for Measuring Color and Myoglobin Forms in Beef

• Published in: Foods
• Main Authors: Chandler D. Stafford, Mackenzie J. Taylor, David S. Dang, Eric M. England, Daren P. Cornforth, Xin Dai, Sulaiman K. Matarneh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022-07-01
• Subjects: Color Muse Spectro 1; HunterLab MiniScan XE Plus; beef color; myoglobin redox forms; precision
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/14/2091

The objective of this study was to compare the Color Muse Spectro 1 sensor to the HunterLab MiniScan XE Plus spectrophotometer for evaluating beef color. Color coordinates (lightness (<i>L</i>*), redness (<i>a</i>*), yellowness (<i>b</i>*), chroma (<i>C</i>*), and hue (<i>h</i>*)), myoglobin redox forms (metmyoglobin (MMb), deoxymyoglobin (DMb), and oxymyoglobin (OMb)), and metmyoglobin reducing ability (MRA) were measured on beef steaks over a 5-days storage period. The results indicated that <i>L</i>*, <i>b</i>*, <i>C</i>*, MMb%, OMb%, and MRA% values obtained with Spectro 1 were comparable to those of MiniScan. However, Spectro 1 values for <i>a</i>* were overestimated compared to MiniScan (<i>p</i> < 0.05), whereas those for <i>h</i>* and DMb% were underestimated (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Regardless, Spectro 1 had the capability to detect changes in color coordinates, myoglobin forms, and MRA throughout the storage period. Bland–Altman plots demonstrated that <i>L</i>*, <i>b</i>*, and <i>C</i>* are interchangeable between the two instruments, but it was not the case for <i>a</i>*, <i>h</i>*, myoglobin forms, and MRA. Color coordinates measured by Spectro 1 exhibited excellent stability over time, evidenced by the low total color difference (Δ<i>E</i>*<i>_ab</i>) values. Collectively, these findings indicate that Spectro 1 is a potential alternative spectrophotometer for studying meat color and myoglobin redox forms.