Nasrin Tabayehnejab, Chris Thompson, Brian Luck, Jon Paschal, Lindsay Hopper, Fred Payne, Tim Stombaugh, William Crist, Ryan Moore, Phillip Womble, Suraj Alexander
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services have targeted bulk food
contamination as a focus for attention. The contamination of bulk food poses a high consequence threat to our society.
Milk transport falls into three of the 17 targeted NIPP (National Infrastructure Protection Plan) sectors including
agriculture-food, public health, and commercial facilities. Minimal security safeguards have been developed for bulk
milk transport. The current manual methods of securing milk are paper intensive and prone to errors. The bulk milk
transportation sector requires a security enhancement that will both reduce recording errors and enable normal transport
activities to occur while providing security against unauthorized access. Milk transportation companies currently use
voluntary seal programs that utilize plastic, numbered seals on milk transport tank openings. Our group has developed a
Milk Transport Security System which is an electromechanical access control and communication system that assures
the secure transport of milk, milk samples, milk data, and security data between locations and specifically between dairy
farms, transfer stations, receiving stations, and milk plants. It includes a security monitoring system installed on the
milk transport tank, a hand held device, optional printers, data server, and security evaluation software. The system
operates automatically and requires minimal or no attention by the bulk milk hauler/sampler. The system is compatible
with existing milk transport infrastructure, and has the support of the milk producers, milk transportation companies,
milk marketing agencies, and dairy processors. The security protocol developed is applicable for transport of other bulk
foods both nationally and internationally. This system adds significantly to the national security infrastructure for bulk
food transport. We are currently demonstrating the system in central Kentucky and will report on the results of the
demonstration.
The overall goal of the research was to develop a water quality monitoring system that simultaneously concentrates micron-size particles and bacterial cells in the nodal planes of a standing ultrasonic wave field and monitors the level of contamination using light transmission measurements. Ultrasonic concentration is an attractive method for in-line, continuous sensing since it has no moving parts and is not limited by a physical barrier, e.g., a filter, which may get plugged over time. The degree of concentration was evaluated over a range of initial particle concentration. Results showed that particle banding occurred within seconds of sonication - allowing for real-time analysis - and the degree of concentration increased with decreasing initial concentration of particles in the suspension. Concentration factors of 5 to 10 were achievable. Results from this study can be used in the design and fabrication of sensitive water quality monitoring systems that would permit real-time water quality analysis.
Conference Committee Involvement (2)
Optics for Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Foods II
10 September 2007 | Boston, MA, United States
Optics for Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Foods
3 October 2006 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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