The discrimination of raw and UHT milk samples contaminated with penicillin G and ampicillin using image processing neural network and biocrystallization methods

• Novel method developed to determine antibiotic residues in raw and UHT milk.
• Biocrystallization method combined with image processing neural networks developed.
• Method successful for discrimination of penicillin G, ampicillin in raw, UHT milk.
• Combined methodology showed classification performance between 86% and 100%.

This paper utilized a neural network for texture image analysis to differentiate between milk, either raw or ultra high temperature (UHT) with antibiotic residues (e.g., penicillin G and ampicillin) and milk without antibiotic residues. The biocrystallization method was applied to obtain biocrystallogram images for milk samples spiked with penicillin G and ampicillin at different concentration levels. The biocrystallogram images were used as an input for a designed neural network called the image processing neural network (ImgProcNN). The visual differences in these images that were based on textural properties, including the distribution of crystals on the circular grass underlay, the thin or thick structure of the crystal needles, and the angles between the branches and the side needles, were used to discriminate the antibiotic-free milk samples from samples with antibiotic residues. The visual description and definition of these images have major disadvantages. In this study, the ImgProcNN was developed to overcome the shortcomings of these visual descriptions and definitions. Overall, the neural network achieved an average recognition performance between 86% and 100%. This high level of recognition suggests that the neural network used in this paper has potential as a method for discriminating raw and UHT milk samples contaminated with different antibiotics.