Far-infrared and 3-D imaging for doneness assessment in chicken breast

Sensor fusion of infrared imaging and range imaging was proposed to estimate internal temperature on just cooked chicken breasts. An infrared camera operating at 8-12 mum registered surface temperature of cooked meat samples, while a single line structured light system located the thickest region of the meat target. In this region of interest, a combined time series/neural network method is applied to correlate the internal and external temperatures during the cool-down process. Experimental verification in a pilot plant oven is presented. To ensure food safety, a mandatory regulation requires all poultry processors in the U.S.A to verify that all ready-to-eat products reach a minimum endpoint temperature (71 degreesC for chicken breast), but no current assay can do a non-invasively inspection of all the samples. The proposed system has the potential for on-line inspection of ready-to-eat meat for food quality and safety.