Overview
Activities of food scientists include the development of new food products, design of processes to produce these foods, choice of packaging materials, shelf-life studies, sensory evaluation of the product with panels or potential consumers, as well as microbiological and chemical testing. Food scientists may study more fundamental phenomena that are directly linked to the production of food products and its properties.Food science is a highly interdisciplinary field. It incorporates concepts from many different fields including microbiology, chemical engineering, and biochemistry.
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| NIGERIAN ASSOCIATION OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS KADPOLY |
Disciplines
Some of the subdisciplines of food science include:- Food chemistry – the molecular composition of food and the involvement of these molecules in chemical reactions
- Food physical chemistry- the study of both physical and chemical interactions in foods in terms of physical and chemical principles applied to food systems, as well as the application of physicochemical techniques and instrumentation for the study and analysis of foods
- Food engineering – the industrial processes used to manufacture food
- Food microbiology – the positive and negative interactions between micro-organisms and foods
- Food packaging – the study of how packaging is used to preserve food after it has been processed and contain it through distribution
- Food preservation – the causes and prevention of quality degradation
- Food safety – the causes, prevention and communication dealing with food borne illness
- Food technology – the technological aspects
- Molecular gastronomy – the scientific investigation of processes in cooking, social and artistic gastronomical phenomena
- New product development – the invention of new food products
- Sensory analysis – the study of how food is perceived by the consumer's senses
By country
United States
In the United States, food science is typically studied at land-grant universities.The main U.S. organization regarding food science and food technology is the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, which is the US member organisation of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).
Publications
Popular books on some aspects of food science or kitchen science have been written by Harold McGee and Howard Hillman, among others.Notable food science journals include:
