Sustainable Production Of Food Through Hyperspectral Imaging

Current Issues in Food Production System

Question:

Discuss About The Concepts For Further Sustainable Production?

The biggest and chief need for a human life is food which is produced through agriculture. Engineers are continuously making efforts for development of techniques that can raise the quality of food. The land used in agriculture covers about two-third part of Earth’s surface area. The agriculture is expected to give required nutrients in the form of food along with a source of employment so that optimum utilisation of land can be done (Bender, Wagg and van der Heijden, 2016). The current project has focussed over the food production system which is currently suffering from many issues. As per this, the report will attempt to find solution towards this through engineering systems. The Hyperspectral imaging technique adopted accordingly will aid in resolving current issues related to food production system that will also help in restructuring the future prospective of food production system.

The current report has a major objective of drawing attention towards the current practices that are followed in agriculture. Besides this, the report has discussed about the trends that are presently most popular in food productions (van der Goot and et.al., 2016). As per this, various new practices that can be adopted for better production of food has been discussed in the report. Here, the objective is to entail the best ways that can be fruitful in solving various issues related to growing demands of food etc. As per this, there are various critical factors which can be helpful in fulfilling the objective of identifying diverse sustainable practices (Roos and et.al., 2016). It is evident that the needs and demands of food have been increasing continuously as a result of increasing population. Therefore, it is necessary that some new methods and practices are started which can be helpful in reforming the current system of agriculture and can be improved as per the present needs. As per Weaver and et.al., (2017) the Hyperspectral techniques has been invented in the food production system which aids in enhancing the quality of produced food by monitoring different processes of production.  This is based on a technology in which the chemical maps are used for monitoring the distribution of quality parameters. Thus, the major objective of Sustainable development goals can be achieved easily. In addition to this, technological innovations, various plans and procedures that were started for providing benefits and encouragement of food production system have not fully reached to all areas. Thus, the report will point out these issues and a possible solution for these issues (Bortolini and et.al.,  2016).

Hyperspectral Imaging in Food Production System

The agriculture and production system faces exceptional challenges and also various risks currently which can affect its future prospects as well. Following to this, Gomiero, Su,  and Sun, (2016) have stated that it is crucial to start a new approach that gives surety of success and provide sustainability under new control systems. For said purpose, it is essential to adopt those practices that can draw results effectively based on improving the efficiency of productivity. The maintenance of quality in the food is highly dependent on its processing. This processing system can be controlled and monitored with the help of a technology which ensures safety and quality in the products.  It is apparent that the traditional ways of food production system is not capable of ensuring the high quality of food as they are based on ancient methods. Therefore, imaging spectroscopy has emerged as a faster, more accurate and a non-destructive tool that is being used for evaluation of food processing to maintain quality and safety in the products (Better control of food quality and composition with hyperspectral imaging. 2017). Consumers demand those products that are organic and have high percentage of nutrients in it. Thus, in present time, it is essential to produce the food which is based on sophisticated analytical methods which can easily support in maintaining quality of food and give safety assurance as well. The engineers have done a long research in laboratories and have developed a technique that is based on shortwave infrared spectroscopy technique which examines and observe the food quality. The said technique aids in determining the composition of samples and their physical characteristics. Thus, some of the major things which are closely monitored are moisture content, protein, particle size of ground particulate materials etc.

Introduction of new technologies will aid in making agricultural practices more sustainable. Kandpal and et.al., (2016) has stated that the mentioned method of food production is based on very advanced method that enhances the possibility of better quality and safety in the food products. In this system, the food samples use to absorb lights at specific wavelengths which is 900-2500nm. Thus, a lot of chemical bonds in food are created and it can be detected through spectroscopy. The hyperspectral imaging (HSI) makes a combination with spectroscopy which provides the ability for imaging. This makes possible to detect the food processing pixel by per pixel. In addition to this, the cited technique is very safe as it does not need a direct contact with food because of which food remains safe and there are less chances of their contamination or destruction (Siche and et.al., 2016). Apart from this, improved mechanisms related to powerful research and development, human resource development etc. will also be of great help towards this area. For attainment of sustainable development goals, it is essential to monitor agricultural and food production system, along with progress in digital information techniques. It will assist in providing benefits to various small to medium scale farmers as well.

Advantages of Hyperspectral Imaging

In the views of Xie and et.al., (2016), to attain various goals like food security, nutrition, health, economic and social development and sustainability, require alterations in the behaviour of all those people who are involved in the process from farmer to consumer. The HSI method measures absorbent bands which deliver information about composition and it can be plotted within image to evaluate circulation of crucial elements like moisture and fats. This technique is highly useful for solving the intricate multi component analysis that cannot be performed without imaging techniques.  The system cited here has been applied on a wide range of different types of products like bread, meat, grains, confectionery and fried food items (Su, He and Sun, (2017). The most common application of this system is used in measuring the moisture spread in products.  Apart from this, it also make possible to evaluate the sustainability in the methods of production to its users. The farmers are needed to be provided with this improved technology and education regarding this system. There are some ways which can aid in improving the current conditions of agriculture and production system that is not sufficient for fulfilling the demand of customers. There are several applications of HSI technique that is being used for classifying different attributes in the food composition. Pu and et.al., (2016) argue that the use of HSI technique in quality control of dairy products has not been extensively used till date. Therefore, it is necessary that the application of this technique is encouraged more for getting better quality of food products. It is evident that this technique was initially emerged as a remote sensing technique for imaging data of various satellites and planets. However, various advancements in this technique made it applicable in diverse fields related to astronomy, agricultural production and medical. Many researches have proved that if agriculture is done in mentioned manner, the results will demonstrate productive harvest. Those farmers who have a large number of land holdings and easy access of all types of facilities help to a great extent in producing surplus amount of crops keeping prices to low level (Foca and et.al. 2016). Moreover, there is a need to follow a specific step by step process which can support agro-ecological intensification.

Li and et.al. (2016) contradicts that the above mentioned methods are good solution for meeting current issues and problems but there is a need for taking early actions as well by making a forecast of issues that can be observed in future. It is apparent that farming is a risky business that totally depends over a number of factors. Some of the major factors are quality of land that is being used for agriculture purpose, market knowledge of farmer, weather, capital and infrastructure etc. As per this, it is essential that the solutions for various issues are also enough flexible which can meet the local needs and production conditions (Siche and et.al., 2016).

Getting Better Quality of Food Products

Conclusion

The above report contains discussion over the engineering practices in the field of agriculture and food production system. As per the report, it has been concluded that currently there are various issues in production system like inability to meet the needs of increasing population. Following to this, the Hyperspectral imaging technique has been invented by the engineers for enhancing quality of food processing system (Weaver and et.al., 2017). The report has articulated that the said invention has great relevance related to present time food production system. This will aid in making food production system more sustainable and better for consumers. Moreover, this will require improved education among farmers so that they can understand this method and cooperate with it.

References

Bender, S.F., Wagg, C. and van der Heijden, M.G., 2016. An underground revolution: biodiversity and soil ecological engineering for agricultural sustainability. Trends in ecology & evolution, 31(6), pp.440-452.

Bortolini, M. and et.al.,  2016. Fresh food sustainable distribution: cost, delivery time and carbon footprint three-objective optimization. Journal of Food Engineering, 174, pp.56-67.

Foca, G. and et.al. 2016. The potential of spectral and hyperspectral-imaging techniques for bacterial detection in food: A case study on lactic acid bacteria. Talanta, 153, pp.111-119.

Kandpal, L.M. and et.al., 2016. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system coupled with multivariate methods to predict viability and vigor in muskmelon seeds. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 229, pp.534-544.

Li, H. and et.al. 2016. Feasibility study on nondestructively sensing meat's freshness using light scattering imaging technique. Meat science, 119, pp.102-109.

Pu, H. and et.al., 2016. Soluble solids content and ph prediction and maturity discrimination of lychee fruits using visible and near infrared hyperspectral imaging. Food analytical methods, 9(1), pp.235-244.

Roos, Y.H. and et.al.,  2016. Food engineering at multiple scales: case studies, challenges and the future—a European perspective. Food Engineering Reviews, 8(2), pp.91-115.

Siche, R. and et.al., 2016. Evaluation of food quality and safety with hyperspectral imaging (HSI). Food Engineering Reviews, 8(3), pp.306-322.

Su, W.H. and Sun, D.W., 2016. Potential of hyperspectral imaging for visual authentication of sliced organic potatoes from potato and sweet potato tubers and rapid grading of the tubers according to moisture proportion. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 125, pp.113-124.

Su, W.H., He, H.J. and Sun, D.W., 2017. Non-destructive and rapid evaluation of staple foods quality by using spectroscopic techniques: a review. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 57(5), pp.1039-1051.

van der Goot, A.J. and et.al., 2016. Concepts for further sustainable production of foods. Journal of Food Engineering, 168, pp.42-51.

Weaver, P. and et.al., 2017. Sustainable technology development. Routledge.

Xie, A. and et.al., 2016. Nondestructive measurements of freezing parameters of frozen porcine meat by NIR hyperspectral imaging. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 9(9), pp.1444-1454.

Better control of food quality and composition with hyperspectral imaging. 2017. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.specim.fi/better-control-of-food-quality-and-composition-with-hyperspectral-imaging/>. [Accessed on 19^th September 2017].