Food and Plant Imaging in the TeraHertz range

We will host the Special Edition Virtual Pub "Imaging in Food Science" on Friday, October 17 from 1-3 pm CEST. It will focus on the role imaging tools play in food science. As part of this event, Alessandra Toncelli, University of Pisa - Physics Department, will give a talk entitled "Food and Plant Imaging in the TeraHertz range" (description below). Join us for this talk and other exciting presentations that will illustrate applications of imaging technologies in food science, from the lab to our plates!

Description of the talk

TeraHertz (THz) technology is emerging as a powerful, non-destructive tool for material characterisation in a wide range of scientific fields, including plant science and food quality assessment. In this talk, Alessandra Toncelli will introduce the principles of THz imaging and its potential applications in biological systems. She will then present recent results demonstrating the use of sub-THz imaging to monitor leaf water content and assess the quality of dry fruit. In plants, THz imaging enabled Dr. Toncelli and her team to track variations in leaf water status across different species exposed to elevated ozone levels, providing insights into their physiological responses to environmental stress. In the case of dry fruit, we showed that THz imaging can effectively discriminate between healthy and damaged samples, distinguishing both rotten and “cimiciato” hazelnuts or chestnuts from healthy ones. These findings highlight the potential of THz spectroscopy and imaging as innovative tools for plant monitoring and food quality control.