HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING FOR DETECTING FECAL AND INGESTA CONTAMINANTS ON POULTRY CARCASSES

Abstract

A hyperspectral imaging system including a camera with prismgratingprism spectrograph, fiber optic linelighting, motorized lens control, and hyperspectral imageprocessing software was developed for poultry safety inspection,particularly identification of fecal and ingesta contamination on poultry carcasses. Both spectral and spatial image databetween 400 and 900 nm with 512 spectral bands were acquired from fecal and ingesta contaminated poultry carcasses. Fourdominant wavelengths (434, 517, 565, and 628 nm) were selected by principal component analysis from visible/nearinfraredspectroscopy for wavelength selection of hyperspectral images. A calibration model for the hyperspectral imaging systemwas developed from calibration lighting sources (HgAr, Kr, and lasers) for accurate band selection from the hyperspectralimages to identify spatial and spectral characterization of fecal and ingesta contaminants. Hyperspectral image processingalgorithms, specifically band ratio of dualwavelength (565/517) images and histogram stretching, were effective in theidentification of fecal and ingesta contamination of poultry carcasses. Test results indicated that the detection accuracy was97.3% for linear and 100% for nonlinear histogram stretching. This article presents the research results that hyperspectralimaging can be used effectively for detecting feces (from the duodenum, ceca, and colon) and ingesta on poultry carcassesand demonstrates the potential application for online safety inspection of poultry.