ARS | Publication request: HYPERSPECTRAL FLUORESCENCE IMAGING FOR ON-LINE SAFETY INSPECTION OF APPLES

Submitted to: Abstract of International Horticultural Congress
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 14, 2006
Publication Date: August 14, 2006
Citation: Kim, M.S., Chen, Y.R., Cho, B., Yang, C., Lefcourt, A.M., Chao, K. 2006. Hyperspectral fluorescence imaging for on-line safety inspection of apples. Abstract of International Horticultural Congress, August 13-19, 2006, Seol, Korea.

Technical Abstract: Fruits and vegetables contaminated with animal fecal matter is recognized as a major source for pathogenic E. coli 0157-H7. A prototype, fast line-scan hyperspectral imaging system integrated with a commercial apple-sorting machine was evaluated for rapid detection of animal feces matter on apples. Apples obtained from a local orchard were artificially contaminated with cow feces. For the on-line trial, hyperspectral images with 70 spectral channels, reflectance in the visible to near-infrared regions and fluorescence emissions with UV-A excitation, were acquired from apples moving at a processing line speed of over 3 samples per second. Reflectance and fluorescence imaging required passive light source, and each method used independent continuous wave (CW) light sources. In this paper, integration of the hyperspectral imaging system with the commercial apple-sorting machine and results for detection of fecal contamination on apples based on the reflectance and fluorescence imaging methods are presented.