Author(s)

Qiuhong Liao^1*, Chao Wei², Ying Li², Lin’an Guo², Huaxue Ouyang²

¹Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China.
²Analysis and Determination Center, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China.

This study assessed the feasibility of developing a machine vision system equipped with ultraviolet (UV) light, using changes in fish-surface color to predict aerobic plate count (APC, a standard freshness indicator) during storage. The APC values were tested and images of the fish surface were taken when fish were stored at room temperature. Then, images’ color-space conversion among RGB, HSV, and L*a*b* color spaces was carried out and analyzed. The results revealed that a* and b* values from the UV-light image decreased linearly during storage. A further regression analysis of these two parameters with APC value demonstrated a good exponential relationship between the a* value and the APC value (R² = 0.97), followed by the b* (R² = 0.85). Therefore, our results suggest that the change in color of the fish surface under UV light can be used to assess fish freshness during storage.

Fish Freshness, Machine Vision, UV Light, Color Parameters

Liao, Q. , Wei, C. , Li, Y. , Guo, L. and Ouyang, H. (2021) Developing a Machine Vision System Equipped with UV Light to Predict Fish Freshness Based on Fish-Surface Color. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 12, 239-248. doi: 10.4236/fns.2021.123019.