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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #286074
Title: Hyperspectral and multispectral imaging for evaluating food safety and quality

Author
item QIN, JIANWEI - University Of Maryland
item Chao, Kuanglin - Kevin Chao
item Kim, Moon
item Lu, Renfu
item BURKS, THOMAS - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2013
Publication Date: 5/11/2013
Citation: Qin, J., Chao, K., Kim, M.S., Lu, R., Burks, T. 2013. Hyperspectral and multispectral imaging for evaluating food safety and quality. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 118:157-171.

Interpretive Summary: Food safety and quality issues continually bring new challenges for evaluation of food and agricultural products. Advanced sensing technologies that can effectively and efficiently inspect products for food safety and quality would reduce the risks of unsafe food for consumers and enhance the competitiveness and profitability of the food industry. Spectral imaging technology has recently emerged as a powerful tool for rapid and nondestructive evaluation of various agricultural commodities. This paper presents spectral imaging technology in the area of food safety and quality evaluation, with an introduction, demonstration, and summarization of the related techniques for practical commercial use. The main topics include spectral image acquisition methods, construction and calibration of spectral imaging systems, spectral image analysis techniques, and applications for evaluating food and agricultural products. The spectral imaging methodology discussed in this paper benefits food processors who seek to ensure the safety and quality of their products and also regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, with interests in enforcing standards of food safety and quality.

Technical Abstract: Spectral imaging technologies have been developed rapidly during the past decade. This paper presents hyperspectral and multispectral imaging technologies in the area of food safety and quality evaluation, with an introduction, demonstration, and summarization of the spectral imaging techniques available to the food industry for practical commercial use. The main topics include methods for acquiring spectral images, components for building spectral imaging systems, methods for calibrating spectral imaging systems, and techniques for analyzing spectral images. The applications for evaluating food and agricultural products are presented to reflect common practices of the spectral imaging techniques. Future development of hyperspectral and multispectral imaging is also discussed.