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Title: HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING FOR DETECTING FECAL AND INGESTA CONTAMINATION ON POULTRY CARCASSES

Author
item PARK, BOSOON - UGA
item Lawrence, Kurt
item Windham, William
item Buhr, Richard - Jeff

Submitted to: Proceedings of American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/21/2001
Publication Date: 7/30/2001
Citation: Park, B., Lawrence, K.C., Windham, W.R., Buhr, R.J. 2001. Hyperspectral imaging for detecting fecal and ingesta contamination on poultry carcasses. Proceedings of American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Interpretive Summary: The Food Safety and Inspection Service personnel visually inspect poultry carcasses for the presence of feces. There is a zero tolerance for the presence of fecal material on carcasses being processed. Any carcass detected with fecal material must be removed from the line and treated. The presence of fecal material on the skin indicates a problem during processing (broken digestive system and spilling of contents). Feces varies in color, consistency, and composition depending on location in the digestive system. To aid in the inspection of fecal contamination, we developed a hyperspectral imaging system for identification of fecal and ingesta that contaminate the surface of carcasses. Algorithms were developed for image processing and identification of fecal contamination. The results of this research show that the imaging system can identify uncontaminated carcasses from the contaminated carcasses. The system has potential for real-time identification of fecal contamination on poultry carcasses in the poultry processing plant.

Technical Abstract: A hyperspectral imaging system including camera with prism-grating-prism spectrograph, fiber optic line lighting, motorized lens control, and hyperspectral image processing software was developed for poultry safety inspection, particularly the identification of fecal and ingesta contamination on poultry carcasses. Both spectral and spatial image data between 400 and 900 nm with 512 spectral bands were acquired from fecal and ingesta contaminated poultry carcasses. Four dominant wavelengths (434, 517, 565, and 628 nm) were selected by principal component analysis from visible/near-infrared spectroscopy to apply for wavelength selection of hyperspectral images. A calibration model for the hyperspectral imaging system was developed from calibration lighting sources (HgAr, Kr, and Lasers) for accurate band selection from hyperspectral images to identify spatial and spectral characterization of fecal and ingesta contaminants. Hyperspectral image processing algorithms, specifically band ratio of dual-wavelength (565/517) images and histogram stretching, were effective on the identification of fecal and ingesta contamination of poultry carcasses. This algorithm can be further applied for real-time identification of fecal contamination on poultry carcasses in the processing line. This paper presents the research results that hyperspectral imaging can be used effectively for detecting feces (from duodenum, ceca, and colon) and ingesta on poultry carcasses and demonstrates potential application for on-line processing of poultry for safety inspection.