Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-24-2025
Keywords
environmental monitoring, environmental swabbing, robotics in food safety, precision of human versus robot
Abstract
Effective environmental monitoring is critical for preventing microbial and allergenic cross-contamination. However, manual swabbing methods, commonly used to verify hygienic conditions, are prone to inconsistent results because of variability in pressure, coverage, and techniques. Two novel solutions will be explored to address these challenges: a robotic swabbing system with tactile sensing control, and a fluorescence/absorbance spectrometer for non-contact, protein-based residue detection. The robotic system was evaluated against trained and untrained humans, measuring water pickup, surface coverage, and pressure consistency. Concurrently, the fluorescence system analyzed model poultry protein soil to correlate spectral patterns with contamination levels. The robotic system demonstrated statistically superior performance, achieving consistent force application and near-complete surface coverage, overcoming key limitations of manual sampling. The fluorescence system distinguished contamination with high sensitivity, validating its use as a rapid, non-contact assessment tool. Together, the robotic sample acquisition and the spectrometer’s sensitive analysis provide a dual-modality framework for enhancing hygiene monitoring in manufacturing facilities.
Citation
Mahmoudi, S.; Griscom, C.; Sohrabipour, P.; Tian, Y.; Pallerla, C.; Crandall, P.; Wang, D. Evaluation of Robotic Swabbing and Fluorescent Sensing to Monitor the Hygiene of Food Contact Surfaces. Foods 2025, 14, 3311. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14193311
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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