The Role of Modelling and Simulation in the Food and Drink Industry

This report, produced by the IMechE Food and Drink Engineering Committee, explores benefits of modelling and simulation in this important sector.

Physics-based simulation is becoming a key pillar of the digital transformation that many organisations are undertaking. Its use can increase the understanding of complex problems in the food and drink industry, which allows for innovative solutions to be designed, and productivity and quality improvements to be made. Simulation is an extremely useful tool to tackle prominent challenges facing the industry, such as climate change and evolving consumer trends.

This paper outlines what modelling and simulation is and discusses the challenges of using these cutting edge tools in this industry, including material science challenges and multi-physics and multiscale requirements. It also explores the benefits including those specific to the food and drink sector and provides a framework to think about modelling and simulation benefits and enriches that definition through relevant case studies.

The paper concludes with a discussion on the future of simulation in food and drink and a set of recommendations on initiatives that have the power to accelerate the uptake and drive forward the capability of modelling and simulation in the food and drink industry.