Characterization of the Different States of Myoglobin in Pork Using Color Parameters and Reflectance Ratios

Because color is becoming more important to the food industry, color studies are being conducted to improve the control of both raw materials and processes. Several studies have pointed to the importance of the different states of myoglobin in determining the color changes which take place during processing. The aim of this study was to characterize the color parameters (CIE LAB coordinates, reflectance spectrum and reflectance ratios) of the three myoglobin forms (deoxymyoglobin, oxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin) in pork Subscapularis muscle. The deoxymyoglobin present in fresh pork lean meat was converted into the pure states, and color parameters (lightness, redness, yellowness, hue, chroma and a*/b* ratio), reflectance spectrum (400–700 nm) and reflectance ratios (R560/R500, R650/R570, R630/R580 and R630‐R580) were obtained. All the color parameters and reflectance ratios (except redness values) varied according to the state of the myoglobin.