Can the color of Fresh Spaghetti Sauce be measured with Tomato Scores?

FAQ: “We have another question. Our current Standard for Fresh Spaghetti Sauce is to Run on the TK setting.

It appears as if the Product is Rather orange compared to our Crushed tomato product which is run on the TS setting resulting in a lower color.

What do you believe is the proper setting for Spaghetti Sauce?

The other thing I noticed is That the Calibration record does not have a TK result documented.”

In the Tomato Scores, there are 4 metrics used for the four standard processed tomato products –

• TPS or TP (Tomato Paste Score)
• TSS or TS (Tomato Sauce Score)
• TCS or TC (Tomato Catsup Score with British spelling) which is sometimes referred to as TKS (Tomato Ketchup Score) with American spelling
• TJS or TJ (Tomato Paste Score)

The reason for 4 metrics that these minimally processed tomato products are translucent and light trapping to some degree depending on the degree of solids. Tomato Paste is usually diluted to 8 Brix but the rest are measured as is.

Color Quality Evaluation for Fresh Spaghetti Sauce

In terms of general color quality, “redder is better” resulting in an increase in Tomato Score with these products.

You will note that there is no FSS for Fresh Spaghetti Sauce because it is not one of the standard 4 processed tomato products.

You can pick the one that is closest in translucency, say TSS, and use that metric but the target and tolerance range will be different as Fresh Spaghetti Sauce with the addition of herbs and spices, is not the same color as less processed Tomato Sauce.

Or, you could use Hunter L, a, b values or a/b ratio and define target and tolerances of acceptance based on those metrics.