Spatially resolved simulation framework for water and fat migration in multi-phase confectionery

Overview

Multi-phase confectionery products often lose quality when water and fats migrate between layers, causing texture changes, fat bloom, or softening. This project offers a predictive simulation framework that models these migration processes with spatial resolution, enabling formulation and structural design decisions to improve shelf-life stability. The framework is intended for use by food manufacturers developing conventional and reduced-sugar confectionery, as well as other multi-phase food systems where moisture and lipid transport are critical.

Unlike empirical approaches that only fit observed data, the framework is built from separate thermodynamic and mobility descriptions for water and lipids, coupled across evolving interfaces. It is designed to identify where transport resistance occurs—whether in the bulk material or at interfaces—and to predict how changes in microstructure, crystallization, and matrix relaxation affect migration.

Technical specifications

Core technical approach:

• Couples a water-activity/sorption model with a lipid-partitioning/mobility model.
• Uses explicit interfacial resistance and evolving microstructure to link the two transport descriptions.
• Accounts for crystallization and water-dependent matrix relaxation as modifiers of local transport properties.
• Starts with layered samples to quantify migration profiles and distinguish bulk versus interfacial resistance.

Validation scope:

• Includes independent tests across conventional and reduced-sugar formulations.
• Assesses performance under temperature cycling and humidity gradients.
• Compares systems with and without food-compatible interlayers.
• Relates measured migration to texture retention to support product-stability recommendations.

Intended outputs:

• Documented simulation model.
• Spatial water/lipid profiling datasets.
• Validation results and design recommendations for interlayers and structural modifications.

Technology readiness level

The framework is at an early research stage. The planned 12-month program includes selecting layered conventional and reduced-sugar systems, building a 1D coupled transport model with parameters from dedicated measurements, and extending to 2D or capillary flow where justified. Independent withheld experiments will test predictive performance beyond curve-fitting. The final validated model is intended to be ready for use in product development guidance and further collaborative testing.