AUTOMATED ON-LINE POULTRY SAFETY INSPECTION TESTED

Authors: Park, Bosoon; Lawrence, Kurt; Windham, William; Smith, Douglas

Submitted to: American Society of Agricultural Engineers Resource Magazine
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/31/2005
Publication Date: 9/20/2005
Citation: Park, B., Lawrence, K.C., Windham, W.R., Smith, D.P. 2005. Automated on-line poultry safety inspection tested. American Society of Agricultural Engineers Resource Magazine. Resource. September 2005. p.4.

Interpretive Summary: Automated food processing improves productivity with high quality control capability and benefits both producers and consumers. The poultry industry is one of the food industries that require automated processing for high throughput considering both safety and quality. Current poultry safety inspection is being done organoleptically, so science-based automatic inspection tools need to be developed to meet zero fecal tolerance in poultry processing. ARS scientists have been developing a real-time multispectral imaging system for use in a poultry processing plant. For an automated on-line fecal detection system, the prototype high-speed imaging system which can process birds at a rate of 140 birds per minute was developed. The real-time imaging system can be employed to automate reprocess contaminated birds resulting in a safer food produce for the consumer. The industrial-scale imaging system is currently being tested in our pilot-scale poultry processing facilities for the reliability and robustness.

Technical Abstract: Automated food processing improves productivity with high quality control capability and benefits both producers and consumers. The poultry industry is one of the food industries that require automated processing for high throughput considering both safety and quality. Current poultry safety inspection is being done organoleptically, so science-based automatic inspection tools need to be developed to meet zero fecal tolerance in poultry processing. ARS scientists have been developing a real-time multispectral imaging system for use in a poultry processing plant. For an automated on-line fecal detection system, the prototype high-speed imaging system which can process birds at a rate of 140 birds per minute was developed. The real-time imaging system can be employed to automate reprocess contaminated birds resulting in a safer food produce for the consumer. The industrial-scale imaging system is currently being tested in our pilot-scale poultry processing facilities for the reliability and robustness.