To meet the increasing demand for high levels of safety and quality in agricultural products and food, state-of-the-art analytical techniques are required both during and after production. Terahertz technology, including terahertz spectroscopy and imaging, is gaining more and more attention due to its superiority of non-ionizing, fingerprint spectrum, and transient, which has proved to be a promising non-destructive tool for both qualitative and quantitative measurement in various fields. In this study, some typical terahertz spectroscopy and imaging systems are summarized. Importantly,recent technical applications of terahertz spectroscopy and imaging for identification and classification, location, safety control, and quality inspection in agricultural products and food are reviewed. The challenges and outlook of terahertz spectroscopy and imaging in agriculture and food fields are also discussed.

Keywords

Terahertz spectroscopy, terahertz imaging, agriculture, food, safety, quality

Major field:             Nondestructive detection of internal quality and safety of agricultural products and food (Detection of transgenic protein, heavy metal residue, antibiotic residual, biological materials and food internal quality based on terahertz and near-infrared spectroscopy)