21 - Tribological analyses for the evaluation of food quality

Abstract

Tribology can be used to measure friction between food and the oral surface and analyze lubrication behavior of food during oral processing, which associates with food quality and indicates the oral sensation of smoothness and creaminess of food. Tribology was proposed decades ago; however, it did not receive a great deal of attention until the last decade. In order to give a comprehensive understanding of tribology, this chapter describes the basic principles of tribology, the development of this technology, and the application of tribology in the food industry. We found that tribology plays an important role in studying the effects of different polymers on the lubrication property of food and the oral processing of food. However, oral processing is a complicated process, which includes food physics, oral physiology, and sensory psychology. Current technologies and tribometers can only mimic parts of oral processing, and more factors (e.g., surficial material of devices, teeth movement, saliva secretion, tongue activities, etc.) should be taken into account.