Applications of X-ray micro-computed tomography and small-angle X-ray scattering techniques in food systems: A concise review

X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray μ-CT) is a non-destructive method that allows visualization of the internal microstructures of materials through the creation of 3D volumetric data in different spatial scales. It has been successfully applied in the field of food science to study the internal microstructures of different food materials, e.g., bread and pastry products, different seeds, and frozen food products among others. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is also a powerful non-destructive method used for the micro or nano-structural analysis of dry or partly-hydrated materials, gels, and solutions. It is used to study the particle size and its distribution, shape, molecular orientation and structure of a material. This review reports the applications of X-ray μ-CT and SAXS techniques in food systems and their prospects in the field of food science. Some of the limitations of these techniques are cost and time constraints, image artifacts, and inaccessibility of synchrotron facilities for high-resolution research applications which are also discussed.