Selected case studies presenting advanced methodologies to study food and chemical industry materials: From the structural characterization of raw materials to the multisensory integration of food

Agricultural resources give us food but also potential sources of feedstocks for the chemical industry. As demand from the growing human population rises, the food industry and the chemical industry face similar problems of scaling operations while sourcing the largest possible amount of at least reasonable-quality raw materials. Food is composed of complex structures formed from molecular assemblies (e.g. particles, fibres, crystals) whose properties depend in part on the molecular species present. In this context, investigations are needed to better understand raw material structure and structure transformation mechanisms in order to improve manufacturing processes and the properties of the final product (e.g. food), which means dedicated methodologies need to be developed. This review presents case studies illustrating advanced technologies designed for characterizing biopolymers, supramolecular complexes, cell membranes, enzymatic degradation of food matrices and biopolymers, flavor release dynamics during eating, cerebral multisensory integration of food and eating behavior.