Raw food materials are biological in nature and as such have certain unique characteristics which distinguish

them from other manufactured products. Because food materials are mainly of biological origin they have

(a) irregular shapes commonly found in naturally occurring raw materials;

(b) properties with a non-normal frequency distribution;

(c) heterogeneous composition;

(d) composition that varies with variety, growing conditions, maturity and other factors; and they are

(e) affected by chemical changes, moisture, respiration, and enzymatic activity.

Dealing with materials that have these unique characteristics requires additional consideration, mostly
indirectly, in that there are additional sources or causes of variation. Knowledge of a food’s physical
properties is necessary for: • defining and quantifying a description of the food material, • providing basic
data for food engineering and unit operations, and • predicting behavior of new food materials. It is common
for the physical properties of a food to change during processing operations. Not recognizing these changes
can lead to potential processing failures. Physical properties are an important aspect of food quality and
relate to food safety. They are the basis for instruments and sensors

Physical Characteristics

1. Shape 5. Surface area 9. Appearance 2. Size 6. Density 10. Drag coefficient 3. Weight 7. Porosity 11.
Center of gravity 4. Volume 8. Color

Mechanical Properties

1. Hardness 7. Sliding coefficient of friction 2. Compressive strength 8. Static coefficient of friction 3.

Tensile strength 9. Coefficient of expansion 4. Impact resistance 5. Shear resistance 6. Compressibility a.
moisture b. thermal 10. Elasticity 11. Plasticity 12. Bending strength 13. Aerodynamic properties 14.
Hydrodynamic properties

Thermal Properties

1. Specific heat 4. Thermal conductivity 7. Emmisivity 2. Thermal capacity 5. Surface conductance 8.

Transmissivity 3. Thermal diffusivity 6. Absorptivity

Electrical Properties

1. Conductance 4. Dielectric properties 2. Resistance 5. Reaction to electromagnetic radiation 3. Capacitance

6. Conductivity—ability of seeds to hold a surface charge Optical Properties 1. Light transmittance 3. Light
absorptance 5. Contrast 2. Light reflectance 4. Color 6. Intensity

Size is very important feature since it can determine the loss of products during processing and the final
product yields. Particle size is used in sieve separation of foreign materials or grading (i.e., grouping into
size categories). Particle size is particularly important in grinding operations to determine the condition of
the final product and determines the required power to reduce the particle’s size. Small irregular-shaped
objects can be sized with sieves by expressing particle size as the smallest sieve opening through which the
particle passes. Shape affects the grade given to fresh fruit. To make the highest grade a fruit or vegetable
must have the commonly recognized expected shape of that particular fruit/vegetable. Misshapen fruit and
vegetables will be down-graded and may sell at a lower price in high volume markets.Size features include
weight, volume, diameter, area, surface area, perimeter, length, skeleton length and width
Some other measurements of size:

– Feret’s diameter: determined by the distance of 2 pixels with the smallest and the largest
coordinates

– Major axis: the longest line that can be drawn across food products, calculated by measuring
the distance between two boundary pixels and by taking the longest

– Minor axis, which the longest line that can be drawn through the object perpendicular to the
major axis.

• Length measurements might also be used especially for those long shape food products such as
cucumber, banana, which

• Some shape measurements applied to food industries:

– Compactness: the ratio of area over the square perimeter --- effective for perfect circle food
products

– Elongation: the ratio of major axis over the minor axis

– Convexity: the ratio of convex perimeter over the perimeter

– Roughness: the ratio of area over the square major axis

Shape

Various methods are used to measure or characterize the shape and size characteristics of foods and food
products. Roundness, as defined by Mohsenin (1970), “is a measure of the sharpness of the corners of the
solid.” Curray (1951) and Mohsenin (1970) provided the following equations for estimating roundness under
different conditions of geometry and application:

where: Ap = largest projected area of object in natural rest position Ac = area of smallest circumscribing
circle

where: r = radius of curvature as defined in figure 2.01 R = radius of maximum inscribed circle N = total
number of corners summed in numerator

where R in this case is the mean radius of the object and r is the radius of curvature of the sharpest corner. It
should be noted that, in the last definition (2.03), the use of the radius of curvature of a single corner
determines the roundness or flatness of an object. Roundness values will differ for each of the above
methods. Thus, the method for roundness determination should always be noted. Sphericity expresses the
characteristic shape of a solid object relative to that of a sphere of the same volume (Mohsenin, 1970).
Curray (1951) suggested the following equation for estimating the sphericity of an object:

where: Di = diameter of largest inscribed circle Dc = diameter of smallest circumscribed circle

Color

Color is the one of the most important image features because it contains the basic human vision.Color
significantly affects the consumer perception of quality. If the color is unacceptable, the other two major
quality factors, flavor and texture, are not likely to be judged at all. There are three characteristics of light by
which a color may be specified: hue, saturation, and brightness.

• Hue is an attribute associated with the dominant wavelength in a mixture of light waves, i.e., it
represents the dominant color as perceived by an observer.

• Saturation refers to relative purity or the amount of white light mixed with a hue.

• Brightness is a subjective term, which embodies the chromatic notion of intensity.

• Hue and saturation taken together are called chromaticity.

• Therefore, a color may be characterized by brightness and chromaticity.

Factors affect Color

 The appearance of a product as judged by its color often be used to determine the pigment
content of a product, which in turn is often an index of quality.

 Color measurement can be used to evaluate pigment content (carotenoid, anthocyanin,

chlorophyl, etc.)

 Colorimetry and chromatography can be used to measure the pigment content of food
product.

 Effect of lighting

 The type of light falling on a object will affect the perception of color.

 It is possible to make cuts of red meat look much redder by illuminating them with a pink
light or by placing a reflector painted red near the display case.

Texture

Texture can be generally correlated to the sensory properties of food products. Texture can also be used to
determine chemical or physical properties of food products --- contain more information about chemical or
physical properties than color and size. Textural properties of food product will be change during storage.
The importance of texture in the overall acceptability of foods varies widely, depending upon the type of
food:

Some of common texture vocabs:

 Crisp ,Dry, Juicy,Creamy,Crunchy,Chewy,Smooth,Hard,Tender,Soft,Fatty,Watery,Sticky,Tough,

Greasy,Slippery,Firm,Coarse,Springy,etc