###### Abstract  
Pathogenic microorganisms can lead to serious outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, particularly if fresh produce becomes contaminated and then happens to be inappropriately handled in a manner that can incubate pathogens. Pathogenic microbial contamination of produce can occur through a variety of pathways, such as from the excrement of domesticated and wild animals, biological soil amendment, agricultural water, worker health and hygiene, and field tools used during growth and harvest. The use of mature manure compost and preventative control of fecal contamination from wildlife and livestock are subject to safety standards to minimize the risk of foodborne illness associated with produce. However, in a field production environment, neither traces of animal feces nor the degree of maturity of manure compost can be identified by the naked eye. In this study, we investigated hyperspectral fluorescence imaging techniques to characterize fecal samples from bovine, swine, poultry, and sheep species, and to determine feasibilities for both detecting the presence of animal feces as well as identifying the species origin of the feces in mixtures of soil and feces. In addition, the imaging techniques were evaluated for assessing the maturity of manure compost. The animal feces exhibited dynamic and unique fluorescence emission features that allowed for the detection of the presence of feces and showed that identification of the species origin of fecal matter present in soil-feces mixtures is feasible. Furthermore, the results indicate that using simple single-band fluorescence imaging at the fluorescence emission maximum for animal feces, simpler than full-spectrum hyperspectral fluorescence imaging, can be used to assess the maturity of manure compost. f 2016 243 2016 243 3390/app60902  
but also to the increased popularity of processed ready-to-use products, centralized production operations, and more effective surveillance of illness incidents [3,4]. According to investigations of pathogenic microbial outbreaks that have occurred in the United States, pathogens that were the leading causes of foodborne illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths have been _Norovirus_, _Salmonella_, _Clostridium perfringens_, _Campylobacter_ spp., _Listeria monocytogenes_, and _E. coli_ (STEC) O157 [5]. Fresh produce can become contaminated with pathogens during growth, harvesting, packaging, or food preparation through various routes, such as manure compost being used as a soil amendment for soil quality, irrigation water, or fecal contamination by active wildlife or proximity to livestock in the field [6, 7, 8, 9]. Data on the source of outbreaks shows that the majority of outbreaks related to fresh produce have mostly been caused by zoonotic bacterial pathogens of animal origin such as _Salmonella_ and _E. coli_ O157:H7 [2]. Three surveys related to distribution of _Salmonella_ and pathogenic _E. coli_ shows that they have been commonly isolated from feces of beef and dairy cattle, and over 13% of cattle harbor either _E. coli_ O157:H7 or _Salmonella_[10, 11]. Similarly, two surveys found that between 13% and 23% of real swine tested positive for the same two pathogens, and feral swine was reported to be the animal showing the second highest incidence of carrying pathogenic _E. coli_[12], with beef cattle showing the highest incidence. Thus, it shows that the intrusion of wild or domestic animals into production fields or the contamination of animal feces through various routes are consistent with outbreaks related to produce. As another source of fecal contamination, manure compost is organic material that has been degraded into a nutrient-stabilized, humus-like substance through microbial activity that generates sufficiently high thermophilic temperatures (\(\geq\)55 \({}^{\circ}\)C) to kill enteric bacterial pathogens originally present in the feedstocks [13].