Food Engineering Reviews最新文献

Freeze drying (FD) is a leading method for preserving food quality, particularly for heat-sensitive products; however, significant operational costs and slow throughput constrain its use. These drawbacks, along with growing environmental awareness and the need for sustainability, are putting pressure on the industry to enhance energy efficiency and the overall sustainability of FD practices. This review outlines the latest advances in improving the energy efficiency of freezing and freezing and FD processes, thereby reducing processing time and energy consumption. These improvements involve a combination of innovative technologies such as radiofrequency (RF), high-pressure (HP), magnetic field (MF), high-voltage electric field (HVEF), microwave (MW), infrared radiation (IR), ultrasound (US), and instant controlled pressure drop (DIC). In particular, hybrid systems that integrate these technologies with FD have shown synergistic benefits in enhancing drying kinetics and reducing processing costs. This review also discusses the influence of alternative pretreatments on the efficiency of FD and the quality of the resulting dry products. Combining advanced technologies with freezing and FD processes significantly increased mass transfer rates, shortened processing times, reduced energy consumption, and produced superior-quality foods. Recent trends also include the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to model, monitor, and optimise FD processes, enabling data-driven decision-making and improved process control. These advances have the potential to revolutionise the food industry by allowing greater control over ice crystal nucleation rates and sizes, reducing production costs, and improving the overall quality of final products. In addition, novel pretreatments significantly improve mass and heat transfer, shorten processing time, minimise nutrient losses and improve the overall quality of the end products. These innovations have important implications for scaling FD in industrial applications and advancing sustainable food processing systems.

High-Pressure Thermal Processing (HPTP) is an emerging food preservation technology that combines elevated pressure with moderate to high temperatures to achieve microbial inactivation while preserving product quality. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the scientific principles, technological developments, and potential commercial applications of HPTP. Key mechanisms such as adiabatic compression heating and the synergistic effects of pressure and temperature are explored alongside advances in equipment design, predictive modeling, and process optimization. The manuscript also highlights applications across diverse food categories, including juices, dairy, meats, seafood, and ready-to-eat meals, and emphasizes HPTP’s ability to reduce the formation of heat-induced food processing contaminants. Recent innovations, such as multilayer canister systems enabling HPTP in conventional HPP equipment, are discussed in the context of scaling the technology from research to industrial use. As consumer demand for minimally processed, high-quality foods continue to rise, HPTP stands poised to play a transformative role in the future of food processing.

The amount of products, especially food, wasted worldwide continues to rise due to poor storage. Freezing approaches have been extended to food-related research to extend the shelf life and preserve the physicochemical properties of food. However, the process involves unavoidable ice crystal formation, growth, and recrystallization, resulting in cryodamage of the stored food. Mitigating the ice-damaging effects often requires the addition of green cryoprotective agents (GCAs) in the preserving medium to reduce and/or prevent ice formation. Certain non-toxic chemicals and materials have been reported to possess anti-icing properties and thus serve as promising GCAs in food and food-related applications. This review presents the development timelines, challenges, limitations, optimization, mechanism, elementary parameters to be considered, and most importantly, toxicity concerns regarding novel GCA materials and molecules in the food industry. Possible future research in the area of food and food industries was summarized.

Freezing can reduce the storage temperature of food and inhibit the growth of microorganisms, thereby extending the shelf life of food. Ice crystal formation during freezing causes tissue damage and nutrient loss, impacting food quality. The number and size of ice crystals formed during freezing or freezing are closely related to water migration. Therefore, understanding the migration of water during freezing is crucial. This paper reviews the water distribution at the cellular level and discusses the mechanism of water migration caused by freezing from temperature gradient, ice crystal, and food composition. The size and quantity of ice crystals, freezing rate and time, freeze–thaw process and other factors affecting water migration are introduced in detail. Finally, the freezing methods and new freezing technologies affecting water migration are introduced, as well as their specific applications in food. These applications all involve controlling the migration of water to improve the quality of frozen products. It has been found that emerging freezing technologies such as ultrasonic assisted freezing, magnetic field assisted freezing, electric field assisted freezing, high pressure assisted freezing and the use of cryoprotectants can control the migration of water. It may be possible to improve the quality of frozen food by combining the freezing methods with the new freezing technologies, and provide a reference for the practice and research of the food industry.

Radio frequency (RF) heating has emerged as a key innovation in food processing operations such as drying, pasteurization, and thawing due to its ability to deliver rapid and volumetric heating. However, the inherent heterogeneity of food matrices and their complex interactions with electromagnetic fields often lead to uneven electric field distribution, resulting in heating inconsistencies and potential quality deterioration. Addressing these challenges requires strategies that enhance heating uniformity while preserving food quality. A promising solution is the integration of RF heating with complementary processing technologies. Hybrid techniques such as plasma treatment, cold shock, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, ultrasound, infrared heating, and high hydrostatic pressure processing can improve heating efficiency and mitigate the limitations of RF heating. This review systematically examines the principles of RF heating and its integration with emerging technologies. It explores the mechanisms underlying heating non-uniformity, evaluates existing solutions, and identifies future research priorities. Special attention is given to the development of customized RF heating strategies tailored to the physicochemical properties of different food matrices. Furthermore, the integration of intelligent control systems, algorithmic optimization, and interdisciplinary advancements is expected to enhance the precision and efficiency of RF heating, offering innovative solutions for high-performance thermal processing while maintaining superior food quality.

Complex coacervation is a phase separation phenomenon between two oppositely charged colloids, such as proteins and polysaccharides, when mixed in a solution. The attractive forces between the oppositely charged particles lead to the formation of a coacervate phase, which is a liquid, dense, and polymer-rich phase. Animal-based proteins and polysaccharides are commonly used to prepare high-quality bioactive compounds and are widely used to produce complex coacervations with desirable physicochemical properties. During complex coacervation, utilizing animal-based proteins, such as casein, offers several advantages. However, challenges and concerns are associated with their production, including high costs, environmental impact, the spread of animal diseases, and the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens. As an alternative to animal-based proteins, plant-based proteins are gaining traction in complex coacervation, addressing several challenges associated with animal-based protein production. Plant-based proteins provide a range of benefits that align with environmental sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and reduced concerns about animal diseases. Some key advantages of employing plant-based proteins in complex coacervation include sustainability, biocompatibility, reduced ecological impact, disease resistance, diversity of sources, consumer demand, and allergen considerations. Various physical, chemical, and biological processes are employed to enhance the characteristics of plant-based protein-polysaccharide coacervates. This comprehensive review elucidates recent advancements in the microencapsulation of bioactive compounds through complex coacervation utilizing plant-based protein-polysaccharide systems. This review serves as a valuable resource for summarizing the current state of research, identifying limitations and gaps in knowledge, and discussing challenges within the field.

The Mediterranean diet is known for its health benefits, mainly due to its diverse ingredients, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, and olive oil. This review examines the reformulation and characterization of these Mediterranean ingredients using several novel food processing and analytical technologies. Reformulation technologies discussed include microwave pasteurization, microwave vacuum drying (VMD), pulsed electric field (PEF), high-pressure homogenization (HPH), freeze drying, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), and cold plasma technology (CP). Characterization technologies covered include Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), and Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Nonthermal techniques such as PEF, HHP and CP are particularly noteworthy for their ability to preserve nutritional and sensory qualities without using high temperatures, that can degrade sensitive compounds. The main requirement for these processing methods is to ensure that the food retains its beneficial nutrients and natural flavors while extending its shelf life. Analytical techniques like NMR, EPR, and NIR spectroscopy provide detailed insights into the molecular composition and quality of food products. These techniques allow for precise optimization of processing methods, ensuring the best possible quality and nutritional value. The integration of these advanced processing and analytical techniques with traditional Mediterranean ingredients offers significant advancements in food science, improving food quality, nutritional value, and the sustainability of food production. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these novel technologies can be applied to optimize the nutritional and sensory qualities of Mediterranean ingredients while enhancing their health-promoting capabilities.

Olive oil holds a significant position in the global vegetable oil market, often reaching high prices compared to other vegetable oils. However, like other oils, it is vulnerable to oxidation, which can degrade its quality during storage, making it essential to determine its shelf-life. So, kinetic or empirical models have been developed to estimate how long olive oil can maintain the legal quality standards necessary for its commercial classification or to be marketed with nutritional or health claim. This study reviews recent advancements in modelling approaches to predict the shelf-life of olive oil under different storage conditions, namely storage duration (from 2 months to 2 years), temperature (20–50 ºC), and light exposure (light versus dark storage). Most models estimate the timeframe in which olive oil remains compliant with regulatory requirements for specific commercial grades, namely extra virgin olive oil, with fewer models addressing health-related claims. Developed models include pseudo zero-, pseudo first-, and pseudo second-order kinetic models and empirical models, derived from experimental data on the oil’s chemical stability over time. While empirical models can be highly accurate, they often require extensive chemical data, including for compounds for which no legal thresholds exist, and complex statistical techniques, limiting their use by non-specialists. In contrast, kinetic models offer simpler and user-friendly mathematical equations. Nonetheless, olive oil’s shelf-life predictions remain influenced by factors such as initial oil composition, packaging materials, and storage conditions, underscoring the ongoing need to refine the predictive models.

The drying of fresh ginger is crucial for establishing its edible and medicinal worth during post-harvest management.Microwave drying (MD) represents a high efficiency and environmental sustainability technology that continues to garner attention for its pivotal role in advancing the sustainable development of fresh ginger. In light of this, this paper summarizes the fundamentals of microwave technology and the application of different drying modes in the drying fresh ginger, and systematically explores the parametric effects the MD of fresh ginger, its quality characterization and challenges. The findings indicate that dielectric loss serves as the central mechanism due to water as a typical dipole polarization inducing molecular vibration, rotation and friction to generate heat in MD process. The issues of non-uniform energy distribution, variable drying outcomes and the scaling-up of industrialization are still major challenges for microwave applications. In the future, potential solutions should be to strengthen the industrialization of microwave technology. In particular, it is of great significance to develop efficient and stable scale equipment, integrate artificial intelligence to optimize temperature and humidity control, and conduct in-depth research on microwave-material interaction mechanism based on numerical simulation. These technological breakthroughs will accelerate the industrial large-scale application of fresh ginger MD.

Food packaging in space missions is a challenge because of the specific needs of the food by the explorers as they go through long distances in space. The scope of this review paper is, therefore, aimed to discuss recent advances in specific food packaging practices for space missions based on the materials, technologies, and methodologies in coping with environmental and technological challenges of space. That enables this paper to elaborate on other contemporary packaging materials, like biodegradable polymers and edible films, which are both biodegradable and protective of goods against the space environment. In addition, it assesses smart packaging systems for foods, which can trace the quality and contamination of food items and technologies such as vacuum packaging and modified atmospheric packaging for longevity. Based on the review of the literature on current research, issues, and future developments, this paper identifies theoretical and practical implications of the multisource approach to designing safe, sustainable, and high-performance packaging for space food. The study also reports specific research gaps and offers possible trends for future developments regarding this central feature of space mission planning.