FOOD SAFETY AND DEFENSE CONCERNS ARE INCREASING WORLDWIDE BECAUSE OF THE GLOBALIZATION OF FOOD MARKET, AND INCREASING COMPLEXITIES IN THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN. THEREFORE, LOW-COST RAPID METHODS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF FOODBORNE PATHOGENS.ALTHOUGH TRADITIONAL MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF PATHOGENS ARE WELL ESTABLISHED, THESE METHODS ARE COSTLY, CUMBERSOME, AND CAN TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO GIVE CONFIRMATORY RESULTS. HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING (HSI)IS A NOVEL TECHNOLOGY IN THE FIELD OF FOOD SAFETY, WHICH HAS GREAT POTENTIAL INTHE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF PATHOGENIC BACTERIA.HSI USES VISIBLE-NEAR INFRARED(400 TO 1,000 NM)SPECTRA TO ACQUIRE BOTH SPATIAL AND SPECTRAL INFORMATION OF A SAMPLE BY COMBINING IMAGING WITH SPECTROSCOPY.THE REFERENCE HYPERSPECTRAL SIGNATURES CAN BE MATCHED WITH THE HYPERSPECTRAL SIGNATURES OF UNKNOWN SPECIMENS FOR THEIR IDENTIFICATION. COMMERCIALHSI SYSTEMS COST OVER $150,000 WITH LITTLE ROOM FOR MODIFICATIONS. HENCE, DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW-COST AND VALIDATED HSI SYSTEM WITH USER FRIENDLY INTERFACE WILL ENCOURAGE OTHER RESEARCHERS TO EXPLORE THIS TECHNOLOGY FURTHER AND PROVIDE THE FOOD INDUSTRY WITH A FASTER PATHOGEN IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM. THEREFORE, THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TOEVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF A LOW-COST CUSTOM ASSEMBLED HSI SYSTEM FOR THE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF PATHOGENIC BACTERIA AT COLONY AND CELLULAR LEVELS USING GROWTH MEDIA, MILK, AND MILK POWDER. SUCCESS OF THE PROPOSED STUDY CAN REVOLUTIONIZE THE RAPID IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FOOD INDUSTRY BY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE PRODUCT HOLD TIMES AND ALLOWING THE FASTER REALIZE OF SAFE FOODS.