Overview
ISO 11037:2011 - Sensory analysis: Guidelines for sensory assessment of the colour of products provides standardized guidance for visually evaluating product colour. It covers procedures for solid, semi‑solid, powder and liquid products that may be opaque, translucent, cloudy or transparent, and either matt or glossy. The standard defines controlled viewing, lighting and geometric conditions, assessor requirements, reference materials and reporting practices to ensure reproducible colour judgements (difference testing, profile analysis, grading) by trained panels or expert assessors.
Key topics and requirements
- Scope of application: Solid, semi‑solid, powder and liquid products; matt or glossy; opaque to transparent materials. Does not cover consumer testing or metamerism assessment of food products (Annex A describes metameric matches).
- Lighting:
- Routine comparisons use artificial daylight approximating CIE D65 (correlated colour temperature ≈ 6 500 K).
- Minimum colour rendering index (CRI) recommended: R ≥ 90 (relative to D65).
- Natural daylight may be used for routine assessment only if carefully controlled; referee comparisons should use specified artificial illumination.
- Illuminance:
- Recommended range on samples: 800–4 000 lx; typical comfortable range 1 000–1 500 lx (higher for dark colours).
- Viewing environment:
- Prefer a viewing box with self‑contained illumination for precise matching; booths or open spaces acceptable for less exacting work.
- Surrounding surfaces should be achromatic (light grey reflectance ≥ 0.5); wall luminance ≈ 100 cd/m²; booth interior luminance factor ~15% (or ~30% for near‑white comparisons).
- Geometry and glare:
- Standardize relative positions of light source, sample and assessor’s eye.
- Minimize specular reflections by ensuring the assessor’s line of sight differs from the incident light angle.
- Assessors and materials:
- Use assessors with normal colour vision; employ colour standards/reference materials, defined apparatus and documented procedures.
- Results & reporting:
- The standard specifies how to express results and what to include in the test report to ensure reproducibility and traceability.
Applications and users
ISO 11037:2011 is used to standardize visual colour assessment where instrumental measures are complemented by human judgement. Typical users:
- Quality control and R&D laboratories
- Sensory scientists and trained panels
- Colour experts and product formulators
- Industries where perceived colour is critical (e.g., food, cosmetics, coatings, textiles, packaging)
Related standards
- ISO 5492 (Sensory analysis - Vocabulary)
- ISO 6658 (Sensory analysis - Methodology)
- ISO 8586 (Selection, training and monitoring of assessors)
- ISO 8589 (Test room design)
- IEC 60050-845 / CIE 17 (Lighting and colour terminology)
Keywords: ISO 11037:2011, sensory analysis, colour assessment, color matching, D65, illuminance, colour rendering index, viewing conditions, assessors, colour standards.
