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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory » Research » Research Project #426551

Research Project: Development of Rapid In-Field Spectral Imaging Methods to Detect Hazardous Chemicals and Microorganisms for Ensuring Safety of Agricultural Products

Location: Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory

Project Number: 8042-42000-020-031-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: May 1, 2014
End Date: Apr 30, 2019

Objective:
The overall objectives are to join the resources and expertise of ARS and Experiment and Research Institute (ERI), National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS), to conduct research on application of spectral imaging techniques (e.g., hyperspectral/multispectral) for safety-based screening of agricultural products and to develop rapid screening methods for detecting the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms and hazardous chemical substances in agricultural products. Cooperative research will include evaluation of the use of portable optical sensing devices for food safety assessment for regulatory purposes as related to various agricultural products and food processing environments.

Approach:
Evaluate various state-of-the-art opto-electronic imaging methods, including ARS hyperspectral and portable imaging techniques, for development of rapid screening technologies for biological and chemical contaminants. Spectral imaging methods under consideration include fluorescence; visible/near-infrared, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared reflectance spanning the spectrum range from 380 nm to 2500 nm; and rapid line-scan-based Raman hyperspectral chemical imaging suitable for macro-scale samples. Develop rapid screening methods including sensing and instrumentation, such as portable handheld devices, and determine the efficacies of using the screening methods in food safety assessment for regulatory purposes.