Fluid Flow in Food Processing

Dear Colleagues,

Food processing, in many cases, involves transport inside pipelines, as well as heat and mass transfer between foods to be processed and heating/cooling media, as well as the surrounding environment. Energy and mass transfer concern all the agri-food sectors, regardless of the origin of the raw materials and the specific segment. The magnitude of heat and mass phenomena deeply depends on the flow properties of fluid foods, which are, in turn, dependent on the composition or the ingredients of the system. Unfortunately, fluid food materials are characterized by a multiphasic nature and generally present great difficulties in terms of measuring and predicting their rheological behavior. The attention to this aspect received a new boost in the last few years due to the great request of process optimization in order to reduce wastefulness and also improve food’s carbon footprint. Whether the food is processed with or without a container, studying the effects of fluid flow on heat and mass transfer represents a great challenge in the food science field, mainly because food matrices are very sensible in terms of nutritional, colorimetric, textural, and, last but not least, organoleptic properties. Effects of rheological behavior on heat transfer also implies important safety issues; for example, when thermal inactivation is the main goal of the process. In addition, the study of liquid food’s rheological properties is showing an increasing attention to flavor release in the human mouth, as well as the absorption rate in the gastrointestinal tract. Finally, in the food industry, rheological data are also needed in process engineering calculations involving a wide range of equipment designs, such as pumps, pipelines, heat exchangers, mixers, extruders and homogenizers. This Special Issue of Foods on “Fluid Flow in Food Processing” invites manuscripts on various aspects of food rheology in the food industry from process/equipment design and optimization to food quality improvement and nutritional applications.

Prof. Dr. Rinaldi Massimiliano
Dr. Marcello Alinovi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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