Recent Advances in Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy and Imaging Techniques for Automation in Agriculture and Food Sector

Automated non-destructive testing in the agricultural and food sector gathered great interest because of higher production, lower wastage, food quality, food safety, time-saving, lower workforce requirements, and food security. There is a demand for faster, accurate, reliable, and simplified technology to classify the sound quality of food and agricultural products. Terahertz (THz) waves in a frequency interval of 0.1 to 10 THz and their unique properties such as low-energy, penetrating, rapid, and non-invasive technology encouraged the extensive application in the food and agriculture sector as a non-destructive and cost-effective method. The great application of THz imaging is due to the potentials of extraction of spectra from amplitude and phase information using THz spectroscopy. In this review, the principle and instrumentation of THz spectroscopy are discussed and focuses on the recent advances in terahertz technology used in water monitoring, soil sensing, classification of seeds, varieties/origin discrimination, residue detection, microbes, toxin and food spoilage detection, food adulteration identification, and foreign particles inspection in the food and agriculture sector.Graphical abstract