X-ray micro-computed tomography of cellular food products

Modern food processing is increasingly concerned with the production of products with complex aerated microstructures which determine to a large extent the mechanical and aesthetic properties of these products. The development and analysis of such new materials require non-invasive techniques for visualisation and measurement of the internal microstructure. This paper describes the imaging, visualisation and analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) cellular microstructure of a number of food products (aerated chocolate, mousse, marshmallow and muffin) using X-ray micro-computed tomography. A 3D model of the foam microstructure is determined and, by combining image analysis with a stereological technique, quantitative information is obtained on a number of parameters including spatial cell size distribution, cell wall-thickness distribution, connectivity, and voidage. The work shows that X-ray micro-computed tomography is an elegant and useful tool for the study of the 3D structure of cellular food materials.