ARS | Publication request: Application of Imaging Technology to Chicken Carcasses and Hatching Eggs

Submitted to: Poultry Waste Management Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: October 16, 2006
Publication Date: October 23, 2006
Citation: Smith, D.P., Windham, W.R., Lawrence, K.C., Park, B., Heitschmidt, G.W. 2006. Application of Imaging Technology to Chicken Carcasses and Hatching Eggs. Poultry Waste Management Symposium Proceedings.

Interpretive Summary: Machine vision technology has been widely used by food and agricultural industries for such tasks as product sorting and inspection, and mapping agricultural fields. A form of visual sensing, known as hyperspectral imaging, has been adopted to detect the fertility of eggs and early development of chick embryos, as well as fecal material on chicken carcasses during processing. Commercial broiler hatcheries could save money by decreasing utility usage and improve sanitation by removing the 15-20% of infertile eggs prior to incubation. Detecting and sorting out contaminated carcasses using imaging could lead to decreased water usage in broiler processing plants, as only the relatively few contaminated carcasses would be washed.

Technical Abstract: Machine vision technology has been utilized by many sectors of the food and agriculture industry to facilitate sorting, inspection, and field mapping. A specific application, hyperspectral imaging, has been adapted to detect the fertility/early development of hatching eggs and fecal material on chicken carcasses. Commercial broiler hatcheries could decrease utility usage and improve sanitation by removing the 15-20% of infertile eggs prior to incubation. Application of carcass imaging could lead to decreased water usage in broiler processing plants via selective washing of the relatively few contaminated carcasses.