Effect of oven and forced convection continuous tumble (FCCT) roasting on the microstructure and dry milling properties of white maize

Roasting of maize can improve sensory, shelf life, nutritional and antioxidant properties with subsequent use in ready-to-eat foods and breakfast cereals. Roasting will inevitably affect the structure of maize, which in turn will affect the quality of the end product. This prompted the demand for non-destructive techniques that directly measure microstructural properties of food in order to link structure with quality. X-ray μCT in combination with image analysis uniquely illustrated the microstructural changes occurring during conventional oven and innovative FCCT roasting respectively. Furthermore, dry milling properties are important indicators of quality characteristics for the dry milling industry. The method described in this article can be applied to any food material to investigate structural properties.