FEA is a powerful numerical tool that is becoming widely used to simulate many processes in the food industry. Recent progression in computing efficacy coupled with reduced costs of FEA software packages has advanced FEA as a viable technique to provide effective and efficient design solutions. This paper discusses the fundamentals involved in developing an FEA solution. It also provides a state-of-the-art review on various CFD applications in the food industry such as ventilation, drying, sterilization, refrigeration, cold display and storage, and mixing, and elucidates the physical models most commonly used in these applications. The challenges faced by modelers using FEA in the food industry are also discussed.cc