Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems
Food production cannot be decoupled from human and planetary wellbeing. Meeting safety, nutritional, sensorial, and even price requirements entails applying an integral view of food products and their manufacturing and distribution processes. Virtualization of food commodities and products, i.e., th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Food Science and Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frfst.2023.1203544/full |
| _version_ | 1797780771791962112 |
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| author | Chang Chen Angie Homez-Jara Maria G. Corradini Maria G. Corradini |
| author_facet | Chang Chen Angie Homez-Jara Maria G. Corradini Maria G. Corradini |
| author_sort | Chang Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Food production cannot be decoupled from human and planetary wellbeing. Meeting safety, nutritional, sensorial, and even price requirements entails applying an integral view of food products and their manufacturing and distribution processes. Virtualization of food commodities and products, i.e., their digital representation, offers opportunities to study, simulate, and predict the contributions of internal (e.g., composition and structure) and external factors (e.g., processing conditions) to food quality, safety, stability, and sustainability. Building virtual versions of foods requires a holistic supporting framework composed of instrumental and computational techniques. The development of virtual foods has been bolstered by advanced tools for collecting data, informing and validating modelling, e.g., micro-computed tomography, to accurately assess native food structures, multi-omics approaches, to acquire vast information on composition and biochemical processes, and nondestructive and real-time sensing, to facilitate mapping and tracking changes in food quality and safety in real-world situations. Comprehensive modeling techniques (including heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, kinetics) built upon physic laws provide the base for realistic simulations and predictions of food processes that a virtual food might undergo. Despite the potential gaps in knowledge, increasing the adoption of food virtualization (data-based, physics-based or hybrid) in manufacturing and food systems evaluation can facilitate the optimal use of resources, the rational design of functional characteristics, and even inform the customization of composition and structural components for better product development. This mini-review focuses on critical steps for developing and applying virtual foods, their future trends, and needs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:48:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b586979c89848aa9a3b753c3cb8efb5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2674-1121 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:48:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Food Science and Technology |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b586979c89848aa9a3b753c3cb8efb52023-07-14T02:03:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Food Science and Technology2674-11212023-07-01310.3389/frfst.2023.12035441203544Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systemsChang Chen0Angie Homez-Jara1Maria G. Corradini2Maria G. Corradini3Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaDepartment of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaDepartment of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaArrell Food Institute, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaFood production cannot be decoupled from human and planetary wellbeing. Meeting safety, nutritional, sensorial, and even price requirements entails applying an integral view of food products and their manufacturing and distribution processes. Virtualization of food commodities and products, i.e., their digital representation, offers opportunities to study, simulate, and predict the contributions of internal (e.g., composition and structure) and external factors (e.g., processing conditions) to food quality, safety, stability, and sustainability. Building virtual versions of foods requires a holistic supporting framework composed of instrumental and computational techniques. The development of virtual foods has been bolstered by advanced tools for collecting data, informing and validating modelling, e.g., micro-computed tomography, to accurately assess native food structures, multi-omics approaches, to acquire vast information on composition and biochemical processes, and nondestructive and real-time sensing, to facilitate mapping and tracking changes in food quality and safety in real-world situations. Comprehensive modeling techniques (including heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, kinetics) built upon physic laws provide the base for realistic simulations and predictions of food processes that a virtual food might undergo. Despite the potential gaps in knowledge, increasing the adoption of food virtualization (data-based, physics-based or hybrid) in manufacturing and food systems evaluation can facilitate the optimal use of resources, the rational design of functional characteristics, and even inform the customization of composition and structural components for better product development. This mini-review focuses on critical steps for developing and applying virtual foods, their future trends, and needs.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frfst.2023.1203544/fullvirtualizationmultiscale modelingoptimizationfood qualityfood processingshelf-life |
| spellingShingle | Chang Chen Angie Homez-Jara Maria G. Corradini Maria G. Corradini Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems Frontiers in Food Science and Technology virtualization multiscale modeling optimization food quality food processing shelf-life |
| title | Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems |
| title_full | Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems |
| title_fullStr | Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems |
| title_short | Virtualization of foods: applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems |
| title_sort | virtualization of foods applications and perspectives toward optimizing food systems |
| topic | virtualization multiscale modeling optimization food quality food processing shelf-life |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frfst.2023.1203544/full |
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