Subjective evaluation of the colour of pig muscle: I.—Accuracy of subjective measurements of colour

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Abstract
A randomly‐selected viewing panel scored the colour of commercially important pig muscles under standard viewing conditions. The variation in scores between different observers for a given muscle was highly significant. Panel members who had previously used this method of subjectively evaluating colour reproduced their scores more accurately than did those members who were using the method for the first time. Training is therefore important before members of a viewing panel are selected. No correlation was found between the degree of red‐green colour blindness and the accuracy of observers in duplicating their colour scores. There was no difference in the accuracy of scoring between men and women. The accuracy of individual observers did, however, vary between muscles. A high content of pig intramuscular fat (‘marbling’) appeared to reduce considerably the accuracy of scoring.