Hyperspectral imaging technique for evaluating food quality and safety during various processes: A review of recent applications

The quality of products depends on their processing. Effective way of monitoring and controlling these processes will ensure the quality and safety of products. Since traditional measurement methods cannot achieve on-line monitoring, imaging spectroscopy, as a fast, accurate and non-destructive detection tool, has been widely used to evaluate quality and safety attributes of foods undergoing various processes. In the current review, detailed applications of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system in various food processes are outlined, including cooking, drying, chilling, freezing and storage, and salt curing. The study emphasized the ability of HSI technique to detect internal and external quality parameters in different food processes. Also, the advantages and disadvantages of HSI applications on these food processes are discussed. The literature presented in this review clearly demonstrate that HSI has the ability to inspect and monitor different food manufacturing processes and has the potential to control the quality and safety of the processed foods. Although still with some barriers, it can be expected the HSI systems will find more useful and valuable applications in the future evaluation of food processes.