Discriminating Yogurt Microstructure Using Diffuse Reflectance Images

The protein microstructure of many dairy products is of great importance for the consumers’ experience when eating the product. However, studies concerning discrimination between protein microstructures are limited. This paper presents preliminary results for discriminating different yogurt microstructures using hyperspectral (500-900nm) diffuse reflectance images (DRIs) – a technique potentially well suited for inline process control. Comparisons are made to quantified measures of the yogurt microstructure observed through confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). The output signal from both modalities is evaluated on a \(2^4\) factorial design covering four common production parameters, which significantly change the chemistry and the microstructure of the yogurt. It is found that the DRIs can be as discriminative as the CSLM images in certain cases, however the performance is highly governed by the chemistry of the sample. Also, the DRIs shows better correlation to the CSLM images and are more discriminative when considering shorter wavelengths.