Computational modeling is an important tool for understanding and improving food processing and manufacturing. It is used for many different purposes, including process design and process optimization. However, modeling goes beyond the process and can include applications to understand and optimize food storage and the food supply chain, and to perform a life cycle analysis. Modeling Food Processing Operations provides a comprehensive overview of the various applications of modeling in conventional food processing. The needs of industry, current practices, and state-of-the-art technologies are examined, and case studies are provided. Part One provides an introduction to the topic, with a particular focus on modeling and simulation strategies in food processing operations. Part Two reviews the modeling of various food processes involving heating and cooling. These processes include: thermal inactivation; sterilization and pasteurization; drying; baking; frying; and chilled and frozen food processing, storage and display. Part Three examines the modeling of multiphase unit operations such as membrane separation, extrusion processes and food digestion, and reviews models used to optimize food distribution.

For the first time, this singular and comprehensive text presents a focus on quantitative studies aiming to describe food digestion and the tools that are available for quantification. A case study relevant to real-world applications places this theoretical knowledge in context and demonstrates the different ways digestion studies can be used to develop food products. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Food Digestion undertakes a multidisciplinary approach to food digestion studies, placing them in context and presenting relevant phenomena plus the challenges and limitations of different approaches. This book presents a unique, useful reference work to scientists, students, and researchers in the area of food science, engineering, and nutrition. Over the last two decades there has been an increasing demand for foods that deliver specific nutritional values. In addition, the dramatic increase of food related diseases such as obesity requires the development of novel food products that control satiety and glycemic response. Overall, digestion studies are gaining increasing attention in recent years, especially as the link between diet and health/well-being becomes more evident. However, digestion is a complex process involving a wide range of disciplines such as medicine, nutrition, chemistry, materials science, and engineering. While a significant body of work exists within each discipline, there is a lack of a multidisciplinary approach on the topic which will provide a holistic view of the process. With Interdisciplinary Approaches to Food Digestion, researchers are finally presented with this much needed approach.

This is the first book for some years that provides a comprehensive overview of food oral processing. It includes fundamental chapters at the beginning of each section to aid the understanding of the later more specific oral processing chapters. The field is rapidly developing, and the systems researched in the context of food oral processing become increasingly complex and therefore the fundamental sections include information on how to build complex food systems. The main coverage includes the biomechanics of swallowing, the biophysics of mouthfeel and texture as well as the biochemistry of flavours and how food microstructures can be manipulated. It contains up-to-date research findings, looking at consumer preferences and the response to these preferences by food process technologists and those developing new foods. The book will be of interest to postgraduate students and researchers in academia and industry who may be from very diverse backgrounds ranging from food process engineers to functional food developers and professionals concerned with swallowing and taste disorders.