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The design of thermal processes in the food industry has undergone great developments in the last two decades due to the availability of cheap computer power alongside advanced modelling techniques such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). CFD uses numerical algorithms to solve the non-linear partial differential equations of fluid mechanics and heat transfer so that the complex mechanisms that govern many food-processing systems can be resolved. In thermal processing applications, CFD can be used to build three-dimensional models that are both spatially and temporally representative of a physical system to produce solutions with high levels of physical realism without the heavy costs associated with experimental analyses. Therefore, CFD is playing an ever growing role in the development of optimization of conventional as well as the development of new thermal processes in the food industry. This paper discusses the fundamental aspects involved in developing CFD solutions and forms a state-of-the-art review on various CFD applications in conventional as well as novel thermal processes. The challenges facing CFD modellers of thermal processes are also discussed. From this review it is evident that present-day CFD software, with its rich tapestries of mathematical physics, numerical methods and visualization techniques, is currently recognized as a formidable and pervasive technology which can permit comprehensive analyses of thermal processing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]