Understanding foam behavior is crucial for the modern food industry, as foam structure significantly affects product properties like sensory attributes and stability. Fast X-ray micro computed tomography (µCT) emerges as a promising technique for this purpose. Over the years, µCT has become vital for the quantitative characterization of cellular structures due to its non-invasive 3D imaging capabilities, allowing for multiple scans of samples under varying conditions. This work presents a µCT setup that addresses the limitations of traditional CT systems, such as measurement time, motion artifacts, and climate conditions, enabling the quantitative analysis of unstable food foams and their structural changes over time. The developed method is applied to solid, semi-solid, and unstable food foams, allowing for direct measurement of geometric information from 3D data with robust statistical significance, which serves as input for numerical modeling of structural dynamics. Results from fast laboratory µCT characterization are compared with high-end synchrotron radiation measurements, providing deeper insights into dynamic foam processes. The information generated has been utilized in various projects and collaborations to enhance the understanding of the relationship between production and foam structure, ultimately aiding in the design of products with desired attributes and improved quality.
