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Title: Development of Handheld Multispectral Imaging For Food Safety Inspection

Author
item Kise, Michio
item Park, Bosoon
item Lawrence, Kurt
item Windham, William

Submitted to: Biological Engineering (ASABE)
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2007
Publication Date: 5/29/2008
Citation: Kise, M., Park, B., Lawrence, K.C., Windham, W.R. 2008. Development of Handheld Multispectral Imaging For Food Safety Inspection. Biological Engineering (ASABE).

Interpretive Summary: Providing a means to ensure that food supply is safe for consumers is the most critical mission for the food industry. Despite advances in food production and processing, there are still needs for technologies to improve food safety. The USDA Economic Research Service estimated that microbial pathogens in food cause 6.5-33 million cases of human illness and up to 9,000 deaths in the United States each year, and cost approximately $5.6-$9.6 billion annually in medical costs, hospitalizations, and lost work time. Among these estimated costs, meat and poultry sources account for $4.5-$7.5 billion. Potential contamination on meat and poultry sources can occur at the processing plants when feces or ingesta are deposited on the surface of the carcass. Spectral sensing has been widely utilized for detecting foodborne contaminants. In this paper, a handheld dual-band spectral imaging system capable of acquiring two spectral band images was designed and fabricated for poultry inspection. Such a spectral sensor offers the ability to instantly assess the target, and it does so in a non-destructively manner.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this research was to develop a handheld multispectral instrument for food safety inspection for poultry carcasses. The prototype system developed in this research consisted of a compact dual-band spectral imaging system, Light Emitting diode (LED), and portable computer. The dual-band spectral imaging system was consisted of two identical digital monochrome cameras, optical system including two narrow bandpass filters. By incorporating an interchangeable filter design, the imaging system can measure any two spectral bands in the range between 400 and 1000 nm without any complicated manufacturing process. This is great advantage in terms of the selection of optimum spectral bands, as compared with conventional multispectral imaging systems that integrate filters and sensors in one unit. Lens distortions and geometric misalignment of the two cameras were mathematically corrected to achieve two band images registered. The prototype system was tested with poultry carcasses and the preliminary results showed that the handheld dual-band spectral imaging system could be effectively used for detecting feces and ingesta on the surface of poultry carcass.