Spray-Freeze-Drying of Foods and Bioproducts Theory, Applications and Perspectives

Spray-freeze-drying (SFD) is a synergistic drying technology that imbibes in it the merits of both spray drying and freeze-drying, whilst overcoming the limitations of these predecessor technologies. SFD produces uniquely powdered food and pharmaceutical products with porous microstructure and superior quality attributes. Owing to its atomization step and ultra-low-temperature operation, SFD is a competent drying technique for the production of valuable but sensitive bioactive components. Despite the costs and complexities involved, SFD has a competitive edge over the conventional drying techniques in providing distinctive product attributes. The applications of spray-freeze-drying in the area of food and bioproducts span across the product categories of instant food powders, dry flavors, active pharmaceutical ingredients, poorly water-soluble drugs, probiotics, proteins, enzymes and vaccines.