Food Mixing: Principles and Applications

Within the food industry, the relation between the quality of mixed products and the operating parameters of mixing is often empirical and so the design of mixing systems frequently does not take in to account well–established scientific principles. However, progress of the food industry towards higher level processing, increasing consumer expectations and the recent growth of nutraceuticals, necessitates a more scientific understanding of mixing within the food industry. New quality assurance risks are emerging with mixed food products due to the addition of functional ingredients and increasingly stringent labelling legislation. Although mixing is fundamental to numerous processes within the food industry, no dedicated reference book on the subject for food scientists and engineers has been available until now. Food Mixing: Principles and Applications is the first volume to bring together essential information on the principles and applications of mixing within food processing. Part 1 examines the underlying principles of mixing, equipment design, novel monitoring technologies and numerical techniques available to advance the scientific understanding of food mixing. Part 2 reviews established and emerging food mixing applications, covering the spectrum of physical properties encountered in food processing. The participating authors represent a combination of leading academic and industrial experts who provide an informed and industrially relevant perspective on the topic. Offering an up–to–date insight into the theory and practice of food mixing, this book provides a comprehensive reference resource for engineers and scientists working in the food, pharmaceutical and bioprocessing industries. It will also be valuable to students, educators and researchers of food science.