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Title: HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING TECHNIQUE FOR DETECTION OF POULTRY FECAL RESIDUES ON FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

Author
item Cho, Byoung Kwan
item Kim, Moon
item Chen, Yud

Submitted to: Proceedings of SPIE
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2005
Publication Date: 12/1/2005
Citation: Cho, B.K., Kim, M.S., Chen, Y.R. 2005. Hyperspectral imaging technique for detection of poultry fecal residues on food processing equipments. Proceedings of SPIE Conf., Oct. 23-27, 2005, Boston, Mass. 5996:L1-L10.

Interpretive Summary: The importance of safe and secure production of food commodities has been increasingly recognized in the current mass production environment of the meat industry. Food-related illnesses are mainly caused by bacteria, which are often transmitted through fecal matter on meat and poultry. Undercooked or mishandled meat and poultry carrying pathogens can cause serious human illness and even death. Poultry carcasses and processing plant equipment can be contaminated with feces released from the digestive tract by cutting or tearing of the intestine during processing. These residues adhering to the carcasses and processing equipment may contain pathogens and cause cross-contamination of other carcasses. In this study, the feasibility of hyperspectral reflectance and fluorescence imaging techniques were investigated for discrimination of poultry fecal contamination on processing equipment. Results showed that low concentrations of poultry contaminants could be detected using hyperspectral fluorescence images with an accuracy of 97.2%. This information is useful to engineers and scientists developing fluorescence-based machine vision inspection systems for fecal contamination on agricultural products.

Technical Abstract: Emerging concerns about safety and security in current mass production of food products necessitate rapid and reliable inspection for contaminant-free products. Diluted fecal residues on poultry processing plant equipment surface, not easily discernable from water by human eye, are sources of contamination for poultry carcasses. Development of sensitive detection methods for fecal reisdues is essential to ensure safe production of poultry carcasses. Hyperspectral imaging techniques have shown good potential for detecting the presence of fecal and other biological substances on food and processing equipment surfaces. In this study, use of high spatial resolution hyperspectral hyperspectral reflectance and fluorescence imaging (with UV-A excitation) is presented as a tool for selecting a few multispectral bands to detect diluted fecal and ingesta residues on materials used for manufacturing processing equipment. Reflectance and fluorescence imaging methods were compared for potential detection of a range of diluted fecal residues on the surfaces of processing plant equipment. Results showed that low concentrations of poultry feces and ingesta, diluted up to 1:100 by weight with double distilled water, could be detected using hyperspectral fluorescence images with an accuracy of 97.2%. Spectral bands determined in this study could be used for developing a real-time multispectral inspection device for detection of harmful organic residues on processing plant equipment.