title: Potential application of machine vision technology to saffron (Crocus sativus L.) quality characterization.
abstract: Saffron quality characterization is an important issue in the food industry and of interest to the consumers. This paper proposes an expert system based on the application of machine vision technology for characterization of saffron and shows how it can be employed in practical usage. There is a correlation between saffron color and its geographic location of production and some chemical attributes which could be properly used for characterization of saffron quality and freshness. This may be accomplished by employing image processing techniques coupled with multivariate data analysis for quantification of saffron properties. Expert algorithms can be made available for prediction of saffron characteristics such as color as well as for product classification.
authors.affiliation: Biosystems Engineering Department, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sajad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiani
authors.affiliation: Biosystems Engineering Department, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: minaee@modares.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minaei
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003116:Color; D027622:Crocus / Q000737:chemistry*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D055616:Microtechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: Characterization and quantification; Color; Image processing; Saffron