Food Science

• Food Science


  The study of the physical, biological, and chemical makeup of food; the causes of food deterioration; and the concepts underlying food processing

  
• Food Technology


  The application of food science to the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, and use of safe food
• Aspects of Food Science and Technology

  • Physical (Colour, Viscosity, Texture)
  • Biological (Microbe-food interactions)
  • Chemical (Food composition, Flavour profile, Antioxidants)
• "You are what you eat"
• Kilocalorie sources


  • Carbohydrate (4 kcal/g)
  • Protein (4 kcal/g)
  • Lipids (9 kcal/g)
  • Alcohol (7 kcal/g)
  • Vitamins/Minerals/Water (0 kcal/g)
  • Fiber (0 kcal/g)
• Functions of Water in Food

  • Moist heating of foods
  • Acts as a solvent
  • Minerals and vitamins may leach out
  • Creates supersaturated solutions
  • Contributes to differing textures
• Hydrolysis Reactions


  1. Sucrose → Glucose + Fructose

  2. Baking powder reaction: NaHCO3 + HX → NaX + H2CO3, H2CO3 → H2O + CO2
• Water is important for the life of microorganisms such as bacteria, molds and yeasts, and their actions on food cause deterioration and decay
• Types of Carbohydrates


  • Monosaccharides (Glucose, Fructose, Galactose)
  • Disaccharides (Sucrose, Lactose, Maltose)
  • Oligosaccharides
  • Polysaccharides (Digestible: Starch, Undigestible: Cellulose, pectin, inulin)
• Monosaccharides


  Glucose (most common hexose), Fructose ("fruit sugar"), Galactose (part of lactose)
• Disaccharides


  Sucrose (table sugar), Lactose (milk sugar), Maltose (used in beer and cereals)
• Starch


  • Digestible polysaccharide, repeating unit is glucose
• Cellulose


  • Undigestible polysaccharide, every plant cell wall is partly composed of cellulose, cannot be digested by human enzymes
• Cows can digest cellulose but not human beings
• Types of Fatty Acids

  • Saturated (animal sources)
  • Monounsaturated (primarily plant sources)
  • Polyunsaturated (primarily plant and fish sources)
• Functions of Fats/Oils in Foods

  • Heat transfer
  • Shortening power
  • Flavour and mouthfeel
  • Textures
  • Appearance
  • Satiety
  • Nutrients
• Types of Proteins


  • Complete proteins (animal sources)
  • Incomplete proteins (plant sources)
  • Protein complementation (combining incomplete proteins)
• Amino Acids


  The building blocks of proteins, each protein has its own specific sequence of amino acids
• Types of Vitamins


  • Water Soluble (B complex, Vitamin C)
  • Fat Soluble (Vitamin A, D, E, K)
• Food supply chain


  Series of processes, operations and entities that help to take the food from its raw material state to our plates

  
• Food supply chain


  1. Starts with the producer

  2. Food moves through various methods of processing

  3. Facilitated by logistics and transportation companies

  4. Ensures good quality food reaches the consumers on time

  
• Food producers


  • Supply food in its raw form: grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish etc.
  • Deal with uncertain climatic weather patterns & soil degradation by industrialisation and urbanisation
  • Growing what they can sell at a good price to have economic sustainability, impacting availability of core food products

  
• Food processors


  • Transform raw ingredients into products that meet consumer requirements
  • Sustain the food sector economy by catering to the demands and requirements of consumers
  • Reduce waste and increase food availability by increasing shelf life of raw food products
  • Need technology insertion, changes to distribution channels and innovation to keep pace with environmental changes and changing consumer demands
• Distributors


  • Important when supply chains are global and products have to be delivered across international boundaries
• Retailers


  • Showcase the product for the consumer in the form of shops or large hypermarkets/supermarkets
  • Consumers have wide choice of retailers, retail channels and formats
  • Retailers try to differentiate themselves from competitors via innovative business models that provide good-value proposition to consumers based on price, quality and service
  • Highly competitive where food processors compete for shelf space
• Caterers & Consumers


  • Food service caterers, hotels and restaurants source raw material from producers or products from processors and transform them into food that suit the requirements of final consumers
  • Consumers buy products, providing cash upstream through the supply chain – providing economic sustainability of the food supply chain

  
• Trends impacting supply chain distribution

  • Innovations in processing and transport
  • Innovations in information and communication technologies (ICT)
  • Automated warehouses and autonomous vehicles
• Consumer trends impacting supply chain


  • Increased consumption of processed foods
  • Preference for ready-to-eat microwaveable food products
  • Consumers moving from cereal, grain-based diet to protein- and meat-based diets
  • Increase in meat production requires increased animal feed
  • Focus on growing crops as animal feeds rather than crops required for human consumption
• Food security


  When all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life
• Questions to consider for food security

  • Availability - Is there sufficient volume of food products and how about the reliability
  • Access- Is the food readily accessible to the consumers?
  • Affordability: Who can afford to pay for the food? To what level of income will the food be accessible to the people?
  • Nutrition and quality: What does the food contain and does it provide the necessary quality and purpose?
  • Safety: How do we ensure safety of the food and safe distribution of food products?
• Challenges to food security

  • Climate change: Countries must be prepared to adapt to climate change for food production
  • Fight world hunger: The requirement to deal with finite resources to produce sufficient food. World population will grow by 50 percent and reach 9 billion by 2050
  • Competition for resources: Water scarcity, energy demand and land availability
  • Increasing food wastes: Results in environmental damage. Cutting food waste is an essential part of creating a more sustainable food system for future food security. Food companies and consumers play a vital role in reducing and/or reutilising food waste
• Cereal grains


  Excellent sources of starch and fiber
• Cereal grain proteins


  Relatively low biological value
• Types of grains


  • Whole (bran, endosperm, germ)
  • Refined (endosperm)
  • Enriched (specified B vitamins & iron are added)
• Rice processing


  1. Pre-cleaning

  2. Dehulling

  3. Milling

  4. Polishing
• Bran


  • Coat that covers the grain during growth
  • Constitutes about 5% of the grain
  • High content of fiber and mineral ash, with some fats
• Endosperm


  • Central portion of grain
  • Constitutes 83% of the grain
  • Contains mostly starch and protein
• Germ


  • Lower end of the grain that is rich in fat, protein, ash and vitamins
  • 2 – 3 % of the grain
  • When grain is broken during processing, fat may become rancid, reducing the shelf life of the grain
• Varieties of rice


  • Long grain
  • Medium grain
  • Short grain
  • Basmati
  • Thai jasmine
  • Paella
  • Calrose
  • Risotto
  • Glutinous

  
• Interesting rice types


  • Black rice
  • Red yeast rice