Volume 21, Issue 10 - Special Issue: Selected papers from the International Food Operations & Processing Simulation Workshop – seventh edition Part 1; Guest Editors: Eleonora Bottani, Francesco Longo, and Giuseppe Vignali

3D printing of food has great potential for applications such as the design of customised food or the creation of innovative textures. However, printed products often do not retain their structure due to the composition of the material, especially in the case of cereal products. Cooking such products with a nozzle could be an alternative to meet this challenge. The objective of this work was to develop, with the help of a numerical model, a 3D cake batter printing nozzle in which ohmic heating is used for baking. The use of a temperature and shear rate dependent viscosity allowed the solidification of the batter during baking due to starch gelatinization. The numerical model made it possible to predict heterogeneity in temperature distribution. Optimization procedures were used to reach desired temperature profiles at the outlet of the nozzle, reducing by 17 % the electrical power used for heating and by 78 % the energy evacuated during cooling.

The irradiation of foods with UV-C light is a non-thermal and non-chemical treatment that allows for achieving several benefits, from surface decontamination to hormetic effects on biological matrices. Nowadays, even if its effects have been extensively proven and discussed, UV-C radiation is not widespread on an industrial level for the treatment of solid and liquid foods, mainly due to technical limitations and the non-uniformity of legislation for different products and among different countries. In this study, numerical simulation was adopted as a tool for the design and optimization of a device for the UV-C treatment of fruits and vegetables. After validating the modelling approach, the radiation treatment was evaluated for different product configurations. The proposed approach aims to facilitate the implementation and the scale-up of the UV-C treatment in the food industry, as it allows for assessing its effects under different operating conditions, prior to the physical prototyping stages.

The total quantity of food waste in Europe has been estimated at around 88 million tons per year. About 42 % is thrown out by households, of which 60 % would be avoidable by increasing users’ awareness. The present paper aims to develop an integrated system to reduce household food waste and improve the end-users’ lifestyle in terms of health and well-being. A smart fridge able to track the stocks, a web application and a set of related services have been designed and prototyped to guide the user in the proper storage of food and support him/her in purchase planning and food preparation. The system was positively evaluated in terms of usability, it is use contributes to both environmental and economic benefits, leading respectively to a reduction of environmental impacts of about 21 % and a yearly savings amounting up to 285 €, in comparison with a traditional system.

Agri-food processing industries generate a significant amount of food waste during different stages of processing. Sustainable food loss and waste (FLW) management aims to reduce, reuse, and recover the waste generated. To successfully implement strategies capable of pursuing these goals there is the need to connect agri-food processing industries with possible stakeholders in the use of waste generated. Primary processing centres are an example of industries that generate waste from the processing of fruits and vegetables. A model able to increase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of FLW reuse with appropriate strategies is proposed in this study. It is based on a multicriteria decision-making approach and a business-to-business web platform to support decision makers in identifying the best FLW management strategies from a quantity reduction and/or sustainability maximization perspective. Numerical simulations highlight the effectiveness of the model in identifying the best FLW management strategies within a panel of alternatives.