Ultrasonic measurement setup for monitoring pre-thawing stages of food

Abstract

The food industry relies on various technical processes, from storing, freezing, thawing, and packaging to logistics. With the increasing population and the equational growth in food production, it is preferred to have increased automation in the food industry to reduce human labor. To provide an automated and green solution, it is required to monitor and control food-processing steps, such as thawing. This research aims to design an ultrasound-based setup that can monitor the pre-thawing state of food. A change in the signal by 20 %–27 % for herring fish and 60.7 % for chicken soup was obtained when monitored from a frozen state to a room-temperature state. Various other sample food products were tested, and related challenges and observations are discussed.