Vincenzo Lampignano

Applications of tomography in food inspection

Given the enormous success of X-ray computed tomography in medical applications and material science, it is not surprising that in recent years much attention has been focused on extending this imaging technique to food science as a useful technique to aid in the study of food microstructure. This chapter uses four case studies to show how X-ray microtomography can be used in food inspection and also to help understand the correlation between the physical aspect and microstructural properties of food products. These studies also demonstrate how the application of X-ray microtomography can aid in the study of cellular food microstructure such as breads, wheat and coffee beans by imaging and visualizing the internal structure.