A CA-based model describing fat bloom in chocolate

Abstract

In this paper a stochastic model based on a cellular automaton (CA) for describing the spatio-temporal dynamics of fat migration in chocolate confectionery, as well as the resulting fat bloom, is conceived. Several hypotheses on the underlying mechanisms for fat migration exist, but there is no consensus on the correct ones. Although many researchers are studying this industrially important phenomenon, few models describing it have been developed. Therefore, the incorporation of different mechanisms of fat migration into a stochastic CA-based model is discussed and the model parameters are investigated for a better understanding of both the model and the complex fat migration phenomenon. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.