Non-Destructive Inspection of Chocolate Cream with THz Imaging

Terahertz imaging is the newest among non-invasive sensing technologies, and its use is currently considered in various applications. Among the potential applications, food inspection is one of the most important cases due to the possible dangerous impact on human safety. Terahertz (THz) systems are, indeed, attracting increasing attention in food inspection due to their ability to detect surface defects and foreign body contamination in a non-invasive way. In order to evaluate the capabilities of THz technology, laboratory experiments were carried out by using a fibre-coupled THz time-domain system. The surveys were performed by preparing ad-hoc samples realized by filling a plastic support with a commercial chocolate cream covered by a cap mimicking a commercial packaging. The presented results provide further evidence of the THz waves ability to detect foreign body in food.