Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service are developing cutting-edge devices to increase food quality and detect contamination throughout the production process.

Yud-Ren Chen at the ARS Instrumentation and Sensing Laboratory leads the team designing portable inspection tools, which were adapted from optical technology used in remote sensing of earth.

One prototype is a binocular that has lenses to detect fecal matter, disease or other quality problems on processing equipment, produce or meat. A light and camera combined in a hand-held device or on a helmet display fecal matter as white specks on an eyewear-mounted computer display.

The ARS research team recently developed an online imaging system to inspect chickens. A similar system for produce is in the works.

Stephen Delwiche, a scientist at the ARS Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas, has detected mold and protein with high-speed optical inspection of wheat and other grains.

At ARS’s Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit in East Lansing, Michigan, Renfu Lu and his team use lasers to judge firmness, taste and other attributes of fresh vegetables and fruit.

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