The standard measurement situation for color involves a specimen which is flat, uniform in color, and thin. For measurements of colors of many food products, instruments which give reliable and reproducible results when applied to the flat, uniform and thin traditional specimens are unreliable. This is because specimens of foodstuffs come in a variety of shapes, sizes and translucencies. The unreliability of instrument measurements can be shown to be related to instrument differences in geometry and to: (a) specimen nonflatness; (b) specimen variability in pattern, particle size, shape, compression, and/or humidity; and (c) specimen translucency.