Color Calibration via Natural Food Colors

Color image calibration is usually done with the aid of a color chart such as the Macbeth ColorChecker containing a set of carefully produced color patches. However, in many consumer applications such as Internet shopping, for which the correct reproduction of color can be very important, most users will not have a color chart readily available, and probably are not interested in purchasing one in any case. We propose using the colors of the fleshy interior parts of oranges, lemons and limes, along with cooked egg white as a means of creating a simple color ‘chart’. A sample of oranges, lemons and limes from North America and Australia has shown their color to be quite consistent, and therefore potentially suitable as a set of reference colors for color image calibration. Figure 1 shows one of the images used in measuring the colors of the fruits and vegetables. In the case of Internet sales, a seller photographing color-sensitive merchandise, such as clothing, could simply include one or two of these foods in each picture. This would provide an immediate point of reference for the purchaser as to whether or not the image colors are correct. Clearly, if the food colors do not look right, neither will the merchandise when it is delivered.