Food Engineering

Food engineering applies principles of chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics to the design, optimisation and control of processes that transform raw agricultural commodities into safe, nutritious and appealing products. It encompasses classical unit operations – such as mixing, heat and mass transfer, separation and drying – alongside emerging techniques in process intensification, non-thermal preservation and digital automation. Modern objectives include minimising energy and water use, valorising by-products, tailoring texture and flavour at the microscale, and embedding sensor networks to deliver consistent quality and traceability. Novel directions now extend to additive manufacturing of foods, predictive rheology for plant-based analogues, green extraction of bioactives and smart packaging, all framed by sustainability imperatives and evolving consumer demands. By integrating fundamentals with cutting-edge innovation, food engineering underpins resilient supply chains and the development of future food systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Three-dimensional printing of whole-grain sourdough and malt flours has been shown to yield biscuits with markedly enhanced structural fidelity and colour uniformity compared to traditional baking, illustrating how programmable deposition and tailored dough formulations can reinvent conventional snack products at ambient conditions. Concurrent work on plant-based meat analogues employs non-linear rheometry to benchmark elastic and viscous responses under cooking-like protocols, revealing that current formulations fall short of heated meat in elastic resilience. Insights from dissipation colour mapping have guided formulation adjustments to improve chew and mouthfeel, pointing the way to meat analogues that better mimic the textural dynamics of animal muscle.

Research from all publishers

Ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with glycerol–lactic-acid deep eutectic solvents has achieved high yields of anthocyanins from under-utilised purple corn pericarp, identifying optimal solvent composition, temperature and sonication amplitude to balance green chemistry with process efficiency. In the domain of personalised nutrition, 3D food printing for dysphagia diets has demonstrated geometry-driven textural modulation using extrusion-based hydrocolloid inks, enabling nutrient-dense, visually appealing texture-modified meals that conform to recognised swallowing categories. Meanwhile, reviews of sustainable meat analogue production advocate hybrid strategies—pairing high-moisture extrusion with fermentative structuring or shear-cell techniques—to fabricate anisotropic protein networks from plant and insect protein sources, thus advancing both environmental and sensory goals.

Food Engineering publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in food engineering across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Additive manufacturing: Layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional food structures from digital models.

Direct ink writing: Extrusion of semi-solid food inks through a nozzle, forming 3D architectures under controlled shear.

Deep eutectic solvent: A low-toxicity liquid medium formed from hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors, used for green extraction of bioactives.

Rheometry: Measurement of material flow and deformation under applied stress, yielding viscoelastic parameters such as storage and loss moduli.

Non-thermal preservation: Techniques – for example high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields or ultrasound – that inactivate microorganisms while avoiding high temperatures.

References

1. 3D Food Printing Applications Related to Dysphagia: A Narrative Review. Foods (2022).
2. 3D food printing improves color profile and structural properties of the derived novel whole-grain sourdough and malt biscuits. Scientific Reports (2022).
3. Non-linear rheology reveals the importance of elasticity in meat and meat analogues. Scientific Reports (2022).
4. Optimization of Polyphenol Extraction from Purple Corn Pericarp Using Glycerol/Lactic Acid-Based Deep Eutectic Solvent in Combination with Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction. Antioxidants (2024).
5. Advancements in texturization processes for the development of plant-based meat analogs: a review. Current Opinion in Food Science (2024).