A complete non-contact colour measurement and
imaging solution.
The DigiEye System
There could befood and drinkthat cannot be
measured for colour
using theDigiEye System
… it’s just that we haven’t
found any yet!
Who are VeriVide?
Manufacture equipment for visual sensory assessment of colour and appearance.
Based in the United Kingdom
Traditionally closely linked with the textile industry.
Main product range is visual assessment cabinets.
Officially launched the DigiEye unit in 2003.
DigiEye is a digital colour imaging system with many proven applications in the Food Sector.
Offers the ability to consistently and reliably measure colour & appearance using a non-contact method.
Characterized SLR Camera.- Recording colour data at millions of points.
Calibrated Monitor & Printer.- Accurate on-screen product representation.- Colour accurate photographic images.
Enclosed DigiEye Cube.- Eliminating all ambient light.- Product capture in consistent lighting.- LED corrected daylight simulator.- Both angled and diffuse lighting.
What is DigiEye?
In terms or colour measurement.
Similarities between the seafood industry and the textile industry 30 years ago.
Seafood industry is concerned with colour but generally rely on visual assessment.
Lack of understanding or suitable equipment for instrumental assessment.
The industry is progressive and always looking for ways to improve quality.
What have we learned about the industry?
The visual aspect of food, its colour and overall appearance, is one of the most
important factors influencing the consumer.
There is a direct correlation between colour appearance and the product’s
quality, maturity and the perception of being ‘fit for purpose’.
Seafood for the consumer
The most common type of assessment for colour and appearance.
Highly trained visual assessors and sensory panels.
No matter how well trained, there will always be a degree of subjectivity with visual assessment as it depends upon.- The person assessing.
- The type and quality of the illumination being used.
- The angle of observation.
To become a reliable & skilled assessor takes time and training.
Visual assessment in the seafood industry
Traditionally using a spectrophotometer / Colorimeter.
with restrictions and limitation. . . .
- Works well on flat, opaque objects.
- limited by the diversity of textures and surfaces of food products.
- Limited by aperture size, averaging the colour of the selected area.
- Results may bear no relationship to how the human eye sees colour.
Instrumental assessment in the food industry
The DigiEye System is different from traditional instrumental systems.
Digitally capturing…..
- Colour, texture & appearance.
High resolution camera - Great precision.
Consistent and repeatable results.
Calibrated images – Colour visualisation.
Measures colour in context not in isolation.
Colour as seen by the consumer.
Instrumental assessment in the food industry
Illumination can be either diffuse or angled depending on application
Diffuse Illumination
Flattens the images. Ideal for colour measurement
Angled Illumination
Highlights surface details. Ideal for accurate appearance for
photographic standards
DigiEye illumination
We can see that the colour of the Salmon flesh is very different between the two fillets.Using a traditional instrumental system the sinew & texture would influence the colour measurement.
DigiEye applications
Note that not all the fillet is measured.We have excluded any elements that would have a negative influence on the colourWe can now repeat the measurement on the second Fillet and compare
Colour Measurement
This Salmon fillet has a large amount of sinew between the flakes.We can quantify this.
DigiEye applications
- The flesh of the fish is approximately 74% of the visible area- This type of quantitative analysis can be used for a range of surface characteristics
Percentage Distributions
DigiEye applications
Case study – Fish Freshness
Campden BRI used the DigiEye system for a project funded by Seafish
The project was to establish if freshness can be linked to visual appearance
It was found that freshness correlated well to the colour of the pupil of the eye
For full details please see the exhibitor for the case study
* All images from project published with permission from Campden BRI & Seafish – The UK cross-industry seafood body
Arising from our involvement with companies in the seafood industry we intend to add...
Numerical measurements.
- Surface area of a product .
- Physical dimensions.
Selection tools more bespoke to the new application .
- Increased functionality and user friendly interface.
Possibility of bespoke ‘scales’ for specific industry sectors.
- Acceptability for appearance reduced to a single number.
- Instant feedback.
- Will be designed with specific industry input.
- Reduction in time to train visual assessors.
DigiEye applications – the next steps?
DigiEye applications – bespoke scales
We have the potential to ‘digitize’ visual assessment scalesThis would allow the objective assessment of produceThe ‘Roche Salmofan’ scale is a good example of thisYou would measure an actual fillet and DigiEye would compare it to the scale
The DigiEye SystemManufactured in the UK by VeriVide Ltd
Registered under BS EN ISO 9001 Certificate No. 3393.
VeriVide Limited. Quartz Close Warrens Business Park Enderby, Leicester. LE19 4SG United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 116 284 7790+44 (0) 783 660 5374
Fax: +44 (0) 116 284 7799
Email: [email protected] [email protected]
www.verivide.com/digieye www.digieye.co.uk
I believe DigiEye is well placed to become the default colour measurement system for the Food Industry.
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