Recent advances in determining the cellular-level property evolutions of plant-based food materials during drying

Background: Determination of the changes in cellular-level structural, mechanical, rheological and transport properties during the processing of plant-based food materials (PBFM) is extremely complicated and therefore, mostly unknown. Moreover, for mathematical modelling of the processes, such as drying, accurate properties are necessary. Due to the lack of these properties, such predictions made remain less accurate, less generalised and ignoring multiscale aspects. Recent advances in cellular-level microscopy and related micro imaging techniques, such as X-ray Micro Computed Tomography (X-ray mu CT), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), have spurred interest in such investigations particularly within plant and animal cells while only a few have been applied in PBFM drying research.Scope and approach: This review aims to provide comprehensive understanding on recent advancements in exploring evolving cellular-level properties during the thermal processing of PBFM, with a primary emphasis on the drying process. Potential advancements in such investigations, limitations and possible remediation have also been reported.Key findings and conclusions: The nature of PBFM, their multiscale nature, cellular-level microstructure, and the dynamic nature of process conditions applied during PBFM drying result in various interconnected and interdependent cellular-level property alterations. The evolving structure due to water migration during drying primarily governs other cellular property alterations. Cellular-level mechanical and rheological property alterations during PBFM drying have not been studied so far. The adoption of advanced methods/protocols applied in similar research fields, is expected to contribute to investigating qualitative and quantitative properties of PBFM while facilitating paradigm shift towards multiscale drying modelling.