Rapid Detection of Chicken Residues on Poultry Plant Surfaces Using Color and Fluorescence Spectrometry

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Ensuring food-contacting surface cleanliness is critical in poultry processing to prevent contamination.
• Traditional visual and olfactory inspection methods for surface cleanliness are subjective and have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate color and fluorescence spectrometry as objective tools for verifying poultry processing surface cleanliness.
• To compare the detection limits of these techniques against human sensory thresholds.

Main Methods:

• Contaminated food-contacting surfaces (six materials) with a model chicken solution.
• Measured color and fluorescence changes using spectrometry.
• Assessed the impact of cleaning chemicals and employed a machine learning classifier.

Main Results:

• Both spectrometry techniques detected chicken residues at dilutions far below human detection limits.
• Stainless steel and blue plastic showed significant color differences; fluorescence was sensitive across all surfaces.
• Detection limits were on the order of 1:50-1:100 for color and 1:50 for fluorescence.

Conclusions:

• Compact color and fluorescence instruments provide fast, quantitative pre-sanitation checks.
• These methods strengthen sanitation standard operating procedure (SSOP) verification.
• Spectrometry reduces reliance on subjective human inspection in poultry processing.