Recent Advances in Food Rheology

Food rheology is the study of the consistency and flow of food under specified applied forces. The rheological characterization of food imparts a crucial paradigm for the physical classification of raw material, product processing, and handling. The rheological measurements for analyzing flow behavior are performed with rotational tests, while oscillatory tests are performed to analyze the viscoelastic behavior. The current focus of food rheology has shifted toward oscillatory and creep measurements from the conventional steady flow measurement. The recent advancements in food rheology, along with tribology, synchronized the measurement of food texture with the dynamics of oral processing. Several new areas of rheology such as large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS), extensional rheology, Fourier transformation rheometry, and time–temperature superposition principles (TTSP) have also been introduced, which anticipate their use in the area of food product development and quality control. Moreover, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in food rheology has allowed for more precise control of food processing, optimization of product formulations, and a deeper understanding of the complex rheological behavior of food materials. Industrial applications of rheological data are useful for designing and optimizing processes such as mixing, dispersing, coating, extrusion, and food printing (involving 2D, 3D, 4D, and 5D printing). Moreover, rheological data can also be used for different food engineering design applications, such as pressure drop calculations in pipe flow, computational fluid dynamics for flow mixing, and yield stress measurement for flow start-up. The precise and optimal evaluation of food rheology ensures better process designs and can make a significant difference in the investment cost of processing equipment in food industries.