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Food Applications

X-ray CT (computed tomography) can reveal the internal content or microstructures of food products, such as fat and protein distribution and air bubble distribution in breading. These characteristics influence the texture or mouthfeel of food products but are often difficult to define and control. X‑ray CT is helping to automate some quality control procedures that have been done manually (Vidhya et al., (2017) J. Food. Process. Technol., 8(5), 1000673). (See the Life Science section for an analysis of seeds, grains, and kernels.)

XCT food application category image corndog
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What can be analyzed?

X-ray CT can be used for:

  • Fat and protein distribution analysis in meat
  • Air bubble/void analysis in bread and breading
  • Coating thickness and delamination analysis
  • Salt grain distribution analysis
  • Freezing and defrosting process analysis
  • Heat process in-situ observation

Learning resources

To learn more about CT data analysis for food:

To learn more about X‑ray micro-CT:

Food application examples

Explore application examples to see if X-ray CT can help you with your research or production challenges.

What is micro-CT?

How does it work? How much does it cost? Do I need It? What are the common problems?
To learn everything you need to know about micro-CT, you can start here: What is micro-CT?

Recommended products

Rigaku's CT scanners for food analyses

For resolution nano3DX

Recommended when you need to image micron to submicron scale characteristics of food and food ingredients

See Product Details
nano3dx_800x610w

For versatility CT Lab HX

Recommended when you want to scan small to medium-sized samples with micron resolution

See Product Details
CT Lab HX130 1200w

For speed CT Lab GX

Recommended when fast scans are required for time-resolved imaging

See Product Details
CT Lab GX_500w

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