Gaining insight on spray drying behavior of foods via single droplet drying analyses

A continuous challenge for spray drying operations is the optimal control of product quality despite the complex process removal of water and particle formation. In general, high product functionality (e.g. in terms of reconstitution behavior, high enzyme activity or appropriate living probiotic bacteria) is key to the success of spray-dried powders. In this article, we review scientific studies that employ single droplet drying approaches to unravel underlying phenomena of spray drying process. Moreover, we identify scientific challenges to advance single droplet drying studies and thus contribute to development of mechanism-based guidelines for spray drying of functional food powders.