ABSTRACT

With the escalation of consumer demands for food quality, the traditional quality and safety inspection
methods become insufficient. Human inspection demands a great deal of labor as it is tedious and time
consuming. More importantly, it is subjective and therefore inconsistent with repetition. With mass
production in the food industries, repetition is vital and so is the corresponding inspection. Computer
vision on the other hand, being objective, eradicates this issue. Additionally, with the use of this
technology, repetition is performed with high throughput, making the inspections far more efficient.
Computer vision with the appropriately selected components can capture visual images and using
specific algorithms and techniques, it can classify and analyze the product on scene. More specifically, a
technique known as hyperspectral imaging is being heavily researched in regards to using it for food
quality and safety inspection. It is a technique that offers analysis at a much wider spectral band,
resulting in greater details and data. Hyperspectral imaging can be applied differently depending on the
desired information. In beef inspection, typically, the main component analyzed is the longissimus dorsi
muscle, through its color and marbling. On the other hand, poultry is classified by its fat contents. Fruits
are typically observed by its physical and chemical properties such as firmness and soluble solids
contents. Furthermore, the technique is used to filter out contaminations caused by fecal matter
contact and other defects such as bruising and tumorous tissues. Though theres a need for
improvements of algorithms used with hyperspectral imaging, hyperspectral imaging has shown great
results when used to inspect food quality and safety in the agri-food industries and its potentials are
even greater.

INTRODUCTION
Although the agri-food industry differs from country to country, in the United States the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for public health regarding food safety and quality. [5]
The USDA would naturally be the main users and benefiters of computer vision for food inspection, and
despite the notion that awareness and focus in quality of our raw foods is being elevated from a
consumer standpoint, it can be argued that the traditional methods to inspect food quality and safety
are no longer sufficient. This is because the human inspection of food is often tedious, laborsome, and
often subjective which results in inconsistency and inaccuracy. On the other hand, computer vision has
been widely used by the food industries for many years, but the constant increase of technological
advancements has allowed computer vision to develop greatly leading to a method that is objective,
consistent, and accurate. Moreover, it offers a high level of flexibility and repeatability with a high
throughput at relatively low-costs, and it is also a non-invasive method which is important as it does not
jeopardize the features of the food product. [4] Furthermore, computer vision offers a wide variety of
methods as different techniques are employed in accordance to specific food products. For example,
one technique that has garnered a lot of attention is known as hyperspectral imaging. [2] This paper will
explore the basic operations of computer vision and more specifically, the application of hyperspectral
imaging as a means of computer vision for the quality and safety inspection in meats and fruits.
COMPUTER VISION TECHNOLOGY
Though computer vision originated in the 1960s, the food industry recently adapted computer vision as
a means to inspect food products. [3] It is a discipline which combines the knowledge from various
discourse communities including computer science and physics. The technology offers methods for
acquiring, processing, analyzing, and understanding images. In general, it processes high-dimensional
data from the real-world to produce digital information. Computer vision typically consists of the five
components illustrated in figure one: illumination, camera, capture board, computer hardware and
computer software.
Illumination: The clarity of an image relies on
illumination. Selecting the appropriate illumination
enhances the image contrast and hence the
accuracy of the image analysis. The choice of light
source vary with specific cases but typically include
incandescent, fluorescent, lasers, x-ray tubes and
infrared lamps. Moreover, increased contrast
results in noise reduction due to variation in
reflection, shadow etc. Therefore, with less noise,
processing time reduces.
Figure One Hardware Components [3]

Camera: The selection of camera depends on the

specific product analyzed. Typical cameras are solid
state charged coupled device (CCD) used more for external analysis of a product or X-ray radiography for
internal feature analysis.

Capture Board (Frame Grabber): The capture board offers individual still frames captured from video
signals or streams. It divides the still images into small regions of two-dimensional grids which are
passed on for processing. [1]
Computer Hardware and Software: Image processing consists of the following steps in chronological
order: image acquisition, preprocessing, segmentation and advanced image processing. These steps are
illustrated in figure two.
The first step, image
acquisition, transfers the data
signals captured into
numerical form. This is also is
known as digitalization. The
preprocessing is the handling
of raw image data. This step
filters out the noise and
simultaneously corrects for
errors like blurring, gray levels
and defocus. In other words, it
enhances features of interest
whilst suppressing distortions.

Figure two Image Processing Steps [3]

Image segmentation is one of the more important steps in the image processing. There are three main
techniques for image segmentation: thresholding, edge-based segmentation, and region-based
segmentation. Firstly, the thresholding technique is most appropriately applied for quick exposure of
image area, which is important for the analysis of characteristics based on reflectivity and light
absorption of the sample surface. Next, edge-based segmentation considers locations of discontinuity in
image characteristics like grey level, color, texture, etc. Then, region-based segmentation attempts to
group regions according to common image properties and the segmented images are represented as
boundaries or regions. Boundaries offer the analysis of size and shape features, while regions offer
analysis for texture and defect features. Various algorithms and techniques are used for these processes
to allow object recognition and classification. [3]
One of these techniques which possesses great potential in food inspection and one that is currently
being heavily researched is hyperspectral imaging. Hyperspectral imaging is basically the analysis of each
pixel in an image. More specifically, characteristics of the object are obtained through acquisition of the
spectral radiance omitted by pixels from the scene. Contrary to a more traditional method of a normal
color, which acquires only three different spectral channelsred, green and bluehyperspectral
imaging observes a much larger number ranging in the ten to the hundreds of spectral bands.
Consequently, minuscule precision and detailing of spectral properties can be obtained, making this an
extremely valuable technique in the agri-food industry. [6]
MEATS
Meat quality generally depends on factors including species, age, gender, weight, living condition, and
slaughter. Additionally, steps getting the product to consumers like transportation, storage period and
storage temperature also affect the meat quality. This is when computer vision can be useful. It is used

to evaluate and classify the meats to meet consumer requirements in terms of quality, appropriate
pricing, and safety.
For beef, most of the inspection is focused on the longissimus dorsi muscle. This is the section of the
animal that is in highest consumption demand. Inspection of this muscle predisposes tenderness,
juiciness and flavor of the meat. Through means such as prediction of color, marbling, and surface
texture hyperspectral imaging is used to classify the beef quality. Through experimentation, food
scientists discovered that features in texture is an accurate indicator of tenderness. Another experiment
revealed that the assessment of color and marbling combined provides more accurate details of the
longissimus dorsi muscle as a whole than the analysis of the surface texture alone. Furthermore,
algorithms have been developed for automatic segmentation of the muscle, allowing further sorting for
meat quality. [3][1]
Poultry is classified through analysis of its fat content. Experiments reveal the difficulty in fat distinction
in the meat images due to the existence of connective tissue, the low fat content and similarity between
the meat and fat color. [3] Though fat distinction is a desired classification for both consumers and agrifood industries, it is of less importance for the agri-food industry compared to the ability to recognize
defects like contamination and diseases.
Accidents like intestinal content spillage and poor storage conditions lead to meat contaminations and
other defects. Contact with fecal matter is the primary source for pathogenic organisms like parasites.
Consumption of those contaminated meats, especially undercooked, will transmit the pathogens to
humans. Therefore, the development for identification of fecal matter using computer vision is crucial.
Though the manual method has been established, it is labor intensive and prone to variations and
human errors. Hyperspectral imaging offers a tool that analyzes the surface spectral and spatial
information which is used for identifying surface contaminants. Other defects include tumors and
ulcerous lesions.
Unfortunately, the spatial signature of tumors tend to appear as a shape distortion, and not a
discoloration. Therefore it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the spectral response of tumorous and
normal chicken skin. For this, an alternative computer vision technique has been introduced known as
fluorescence imaging. Fluorescent spectrums are emitted and internal damages will alter the fluorescent
response accordingly. Though this system fails to measure tumors smaller than 3mm diameter, from
experimentation, it has achieved a 98% accuracy rate in tumor detection. [7] The installation of this
technology in the agri-food industry has resulted in a decrease of fecal contamination, diseases and
defects in poultry. Additionally it offers a classification tool to filter unwanted or unsafe meats and to
appropriately process, package, label and price products. [7]
For products labeled as boneless meats, residual bone fragments become a safety hazard to consumers.
Consequently, the responsible industries spend large resources annually on insurance claims and legal
fees in respect to accidental bone fragments in boneless chicken products. These fragments occur for
various reasons including misalignment of the cutting blade when shaving from the skeleton and broken
bones during or before slaughter. [7] Using the absorption coefficients of the different materials, bones
can be detected at a very high throughput of 10,000 fillets per hour with a 99% accuracy. [1]
As for beef, the inspection of most other meats requires the analysis of color and surface texture.
Special polarized lights are used for the detection of materials which are semi-transparent (fish,

seafood) to overcome the difficulty in segmenting foods containing colors with less contrast to the
background.
FRUITS
Fruit quality can be determined by both physical and chemical properties. Though computer vision has
been used earlier for identification of plant species, its potential application today has been far
extended. The development of computer vision, again specifically using hyperspectral imaging, allows
inspection of both attributions, physical and chemical, for optimal quality data. More specifically, when
inspecting fruits, concerns include firmness, bruising, dry matter, organic acid, soluble solids content
(SSC), pH and sugar contents.
Internal measurements of a fruit focus mainly on the firmness and SSC. In addition to determining
consumer acceptance, these factors also contribute to shelf life. Properties of a fruit include light
scattering feature which is useful in predicting firmness and SSC. Furthermore, the reflection,
transmission and transflection modes depend on the biochemical and structural components of the
fruit. Chilling injuries comprise of brown staining, increased decay and quality deterioration. It may also
alter the firmness of a fruit. Depending on the fruit species, the appropriate wavelength is used to
predict the defects of the internal features. [4]
On the contrary, for fruits like oranges, the external defects are important as consumers make purchase
decisions based of the skin appearance. Similarly to the detection of poultry tumors, fluorescence
imaging was rated the most successful technique used to detect defects like shape distortions and mold
on the skin. This further supports the different techniques being used differently depending on fruit
species. [3]
Bruising is the most common injury in fruits and thus, the largest reason for rejection when sorting.
Bruises which are external are easy to detect with human eyes. However, mechanical injuries often
causes internal physical damages which are difficult to spot with human detection. [2] Fortunately,
injuries caused mechanically or internally (e.g. disease) can be deciphered through image analysis using
computer vision. [1]
Exposure to fecal materials during or after processing of the fruit often lead to contaminants. It develops
potential risks for infections with pathogens like salmonella and Escherichia coli. Early detection is vital
in order to avoid intake of contaminated produces. Though ratio bands are used to differentiate noncontaminated regions from contaminated ones, the detection is limited due to the complex nature of
the diseased samples and low adaptability of the model currently used. [2]
CONCLUSION
Though advancements in computer vision have brought tremendous progress in the food industry, it is
important to acknowledge the technologys need for further improvement. Hyperspectral imaging is a
highly effective method to acquire spectral information. However, due to the extreme level of
computation required for such data, algorithms, and other technologies for the spectral data processing
need development and increase in speed performance. One specific need for improvement is the
filtration of useless spectral information. Moreover, the properties of defects like disease and
contamination are extremely complex by nature resulting in limited quantitative processing and
analysis. This is especially true for the in-depth internal characteristics investigation of a food product.

However, the advantages that computer vision offers food industries in their quality inspection
outweighs its disadvantages. The current technology is far superior to the more traditional methods of
food product investigation. Furthermore, the use of computer vision for food inspection is being heavily
researched, resulting in potential vast improvements.

REFERENCES
[1]
Brosnan, T., & Sun, D. (n.d.). Improving quality inspection of food products by computer vision
a review. Journal of Food Engineering, 3-16.
The writing style of this paper was very technical. It presented a lot of data in the body and made
it difficult to filter useful and non-useful information. Reading the entire article, which I decided
was a good idea at the time, quickly became overwhelming. Though the information was
extensive, a lot of it did prove useful. I was able to obtain great information on how general
computer vision works and some experimental data on its application for meats and fruits.
[2]
Liu, D., Zeng, X., & Sun, D (2013). Recent Developments and Applications of Hyperspectral
Imaging for Quality Evaluation of Agricultural Products: A Review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and
Nutrition, 1744-1757
This paper focused solely on the use of hyperspectral imaging with agricultural products. Being so
narrow and specific, it offered a lot of useful information about the inspection of fruits, moreover,
only using hyperspectral imaging, which is precisely what I needed for this research. It also offered
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[3]
Ma. J., Sun, D., Qu, J., Liu, D., Pu, H., Gao, W., & Zeng, X. (n.d.). Applications of computer vision
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The information offered in this article was surprisingly similar to that of source [1]. Fortunately,
this paper had a wider focus on the general application of computer vision for food inspection.
With less experimental data, it was a lot easier to read and also obtain information. This was
used congruently with source [1] to form the background information on computer vision and
its general applications with meats and fruits.
[4]
Mogol, B., & Gokmen, V. (2013). Computer vision-based analysis of foods: A non-destructive
color measurement tool to monitor quality and safety. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture J.
Sci. Food Agric., 1259-1263
This paper specialized on the use of computer vision for color inspection. Being so specified in
the technicality of color, it was the least useful source for my research. Nonetheless, it offered
some general information on computer vision.
[5]

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2015.

This website was lightly used to gain some background information about USDA and what they
do in terms of food quality and safety inspection.

[6]

What is Hyperspectral Imaging? (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015.

This was used to gain general information about the operations of hyperspectral imaging.

[7]
Xiong, Z., Xie, A., Sun, D., Zeng X., & Liu, D. (n.d.). Applications of Hyperspectral imaging in
Chicken Meat Safety and Quality Detection and Evaluation: A Reivew. Critical Reviews in Food Science
and Nutrition, 1287-1201.
This paper focused on the use of hyperspectral imaging with meat inspection. Therefore, it offered
a lot of detailed information on meat quality and safety inspection. This was useful since my focus
was meats and fruits.