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Retail display case lighting applications

Lighting Source and Perceived Meat Color in Supermarket Cabinets

Consumers judge the freshness of meat by its color, but many lighting sources distort true colors. Meat color is a reflection of the wavelengths of light that are not absorbed by the meat, and is therefore a relative phenomenon determined by the spectrum emitted by the light source.

Supermarket fluorescent lighting emits high levels of green and yellow wavelengths and very little of the red and blue wavelengths, which causes red lean tissue to appear brown, and white fat to look yellow or greenish.

Incandescent lights are very strong in the yellow wavelengths and weaker in blue and green wavelengths, and we tend to think, erroneously, that these lamps reveal true colors.

For example, under experimental conditions, a beef steak that looked very red under incandescent lighting appeared less red under fluorescent or metal halide lighting, while a chicken leg that appeared to be pink or red under incandescent lighting looked brown under a fluorescent lamp and purple or brown under a metal halide lamp. Some soft white fluorescent lamps can make muscle tissue look red, but bones and fat appear pink. However, the predominance of yellow wavelengths in the spectrums of incandescent and deluxe warm white fluorescent lamps can give fat and bones a yellowish tinge, which can be very distasteful to consumers.

If meat displays do not look appealing even when the meat is blooming, consumers will not be tempted to buy, and the meat will spoil before it can be sold.

For meat science references and excerpts click here.

VISUAL APPEAL OF FRESH MEAT IN SUPERMARKET MERCHANDISERS
Consumers judge the freshness of meat by its color, but many lighting sources distort true colors. <more...>

COLOR AND MEAT FRESHNESS IN GROCERY STORE DISPLAY CASES
Impulse buying accounts for over a third of all meat purchases from self service meat cases and is related to the visual appeal of the meat. Over 40% of interviewees judged the freshness of meat by its color. <more...>

LIGHTING SOURCE AND PERCEIVED MEAT COLOR IN SUPERMARKET CABINETS
Meat color is a relative phenomenon determined by the spectrum emitted by the light source. Supermarket lights that emit high levels of green and yellow wavelengths and very little of the red and blue wavelengths distort the true color of the meat. <more...>

Promolux True Color Definition Lamps

Promolux meat display case lighting is balanced for true color definition, revealing the bright red of blooming beef muscle without compromising the white of the fat marbling. The yellow and green wavelengths that are predominant in regular fluorescent lighting are the most damaging wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Promolux lamps emit a more balanced range of wavelengths, including more of the red and blue wavelengths and more moderate levels of the yellow and green wavelengths.