Submitted to: Resource Magazine
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: February 19, 2007
Publication Date: April 3, 2007
Citation: Park, B., Lawrence, K.C., Windham, W.R. 2007. Can machines see fecal contaminants? - Automated on-line poultry safety inspection. ASABE Resource Magazine April 2007: 2-3. Interpretive Summary: Interpretive summary not required for Trade Journal
Technical Abstract: Automated food processing improves productivity with high quality control and benefits both producers and consumers. The poultry industry is one of the food industries that require automated processing for high throughput considering both safety and quality. Current poultry safety inspection is being done organoleptically, so science-based automatic inspection tools need to be developed to meet zero fecal tolerance federally mandated in poultry processing. ARS scientists have been developing a real-time multispectral imaging system for use in a poultry slaughter house. For an automated on-line fecal detection system, the prototype high-speed imaging system which can process birds at a rate of 140 birds per minute was developed. The real-time imaging system can be employed to automate reprocess contaminated birds resulting in a safer food produce for the consumer. The industrial-scale imaging system is currently being updated for improving efficacy in our pilot-scale poultry processing facilities for the reliability and robustness of the system.