Terahertz techniques for better hazelnut quality

In recent years, technological innovation has acquired a fundamental role in the agri-food sector, in particular in food quality control. The development of technology allowed to improve the quality of the food before it is placed on the market. Recently, non-invasive techniques such as those operating in the THz spectral band were applied to the field of food quality control. In the laboratories of the ENEA centre in Frascati, close to Rome-Italy, has been developed a THz imaging system operating in reflection mode and an experimental setup able to measure both reflection and transmission of the samples in the frequency range between 18-40 GHz. With these two setups will distinguish rotten and healthy hazelnuts acquiring in real time both images of the fruit inside the shell by using the imaging system and the transmission data exploiting the 18-40 GHz system.