Project Number: 3635-43640-001-02
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 23, 2009
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
1) Develop a spectral imaging system for assessing and grading quality of pickling vegetables; 2) Develop a prototype optical instrument for measuring the optical properties of horticultural and food products.

Approach:
Hyperspectral imaging technique in reflectance and transmittance modes will be used for assessing both internal and external quality characteristics of pickling cucumbers and pickles. Algorithms will be developed for sorting and grading these products for quality and defect. Effective wavebands will be identified for efficient detection of product internal defect. Further, light source configuration will be investigated for more efficient assessment of internal quality attributes and defect. Moreover, a computer program will be developed for acquiring and processing spectral scattering profiles from fruit and other foods to determine their spectral absorption and scattering properties. Optimization of the instrument design will be conducted to improve the acquisition of spectral scattering images from fruit samples. Integration of the program into the prototype optical property analyzing instrument will be performed so that the prototoype can automatically acquire and process scattering image data and determine the optical properties.