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| Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller |
As mega fast food chain McDonald’s scrambles to control bacterial contamination in some of its onions, a researcher at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is working on using artificial intelligence to detect a deadly pathogen before it enters the food supply.
Anas Alsobeh, assistant professor of information technology, this year received a $150,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop an AI-based rapid detection method for finding the microbe salmonella in onions destined for human consumption. The system combines microscopic imaging and AI, which compares samples to a large-scale dataset containing images of the bacterial microcolonies at early stages of growth.
The system further combines that technology with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) that can automatically detect the bacteria’s presence. The grant also pays for hands-on workshops to train stakeholders on using intelligent imaging in food inspection processes.
Work on the project began in August and will end in July 2026.
“While the project is still underway, we anticipate the optimized AI detection system will enable rapid, nondestructive salmonella screening,” Alsobeh said. “Early validation of the technology showed promise in real-time microbial detection, with potential benefits for cost-effective, high-volume food safety applications across the industry.”
Alsobeh earned his doctorate in computer science from Utah State University in 2015. His research interests include software design and modeling, data analysis, web technology, security analysis, machine learning and cloud computing.