Apparatus and method for detecting fecal and ingesta contamination using a hand held illumination and imaging device

According to the present invention, there is disclosed a hand-held system and a method for detecting the presence of fecal contamination or ingesta on objects, such as a protein source, a worker's hands or utensils. In one embodiment, there is included a system comprised of a housing having a first end, where said housing supports a light source which emits light out of said housing first end having a wavelength effective to elicit fluorescence at a wavelength between 660 to 680 nm, and a light filter allowing the user to distinguish light at a wavelength between about 660 to 680 nm from any other light the vicinity of the object. The detection of light at a wavelength between about 660 to 680 nm indicates the presence of fecal contamination or other ingesta. There is also disclosed a method of using such a device to detect the presence of such contamination, optionally including further steps to identify the source of any contamination and to modify any practices so that the spread of contamination may be reduced.