Food technology and Terminologies
Food technology and food science are associated with various terms. Following are some of them.
Food science is the study of the physical, biological, and chemical makeup of food.
FOOD TECHNOLOGY: food technology is the application of food science or the information produced by food science in the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution of a food product.
Food processing is any method used to turn fresh foods into food products. This can involve one or a combination of various processes including washing, chopping, pasteurizing, freezing, fermenting, packaging, cooking, and many more. Food processing also includes adding ingredients to food, for example, to extend shelf life.
. Food scientists and technologists apply scientific disciplines including chemistry, engineering, microbiology, and nutrition to the study of food to improve the safety, nutrition, wholesomeness, and availability of food.
Nutrition: Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them, and the relationship between diet, health, and disease
The nutrition facts label: also known as the nutrition information panel, is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients (to limit and get enough of) are in the food.
Quality Assurance: Where we make sure that the processes and ingredients we use to make food are in compliance with the government and with the consumer.
Quality control: process or test of procedures used to verify that products are safe, free from defects, product qualities are maintained and improved.
Food Safety refers to handling, preparing, and storing food in a way to best reduce the risk of individuals becoming sick from foodborne illnesses from aim to prevent food from becoming contaminated and causing food poisoning
Food chemistry involves studying the chemicals that are inside food, how they contribute to our nutrition, and how different foods can be combined or changed to make new foods. You have probably seen the nutritional label on a box of food. The ingredients listed are the chemicals that make up the food you are eating.
Food law is the collection of laws and regulations that govern food production, distribution, and consumption. Food laws aim to protect consumers and provide for the efficient growth and use of food.
Product development is the creation of new flavours, colours, or varieties of existing products and/or the creation of entirely new products.
Food regulation: is the process of determining standards for products, defining safety, and inspecting products. Regulations are set by governments.
Food spoilage: It is defined as decomposition and damage caused to food by various agents, making it unsuitable for consumption
Food microbiology: a study of microorganisms causing food spoilage; pathogens that may cause disease (especially if food is improperly cooked or stored); microbes used to produce fermented foods such as cheese, yoghurt, bread, beer, and wine; and microbes with other useful roles, such as producing probiotics.
contamination: Anything introduced into the product naturally, intentionally, or unintentionally during stages of the food chain from the farm to table, which may cause harm to the consumer.
contaminated food: Contaminated food is not fit to be eaten for sanitary reasons. Although food may look, smell and taste good, it may contain harmful chemicals, non-food matter, and microbes. Contaminated food is also considered spoilt.
Food-borne diseases are caused by unhygienic or unsafe food. They include food poisoning, food allergy, food infections
Food allergies: occur when the body's natural defence system overreacts to exposure to a particular food substance that may be otherwise harmless, treating it as an invader and sending out chemicals to defend against it.
HACCP: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points is the safety management systemic approach to identify, evaluate and control food safety hazards that are caused by biological, chemical, or physical agents. these agents can cause illness if not controlled.
Good Manufacturing Practices(GMP): GMP is the part of the quality assurance which ensures that products are consistently produced and controlled to the quality standards. It covers all the aspects of production from the starting materials, premises and the equipment to the training and personal hygiene of the staff.
Good Hygiene Practices: All practices regarding the conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety and suitability of food at all stages of the food chain
The Codex Alimentarius Commission(CAC)is an international food standards body established jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)in May 1963 to protect consumer’s health and ensure fair practices in food trade.
Let's just understand some of these terms with an example, suppose you want to perform some experiments on apple, the first step would be to know the properties of the fruit for which a lot of experiments are performed, a basic experiment can be cut slices of apple(white portion)kept in the open air or without altering conditions, after some time the white portion of the sliced apple turns into brown colour after 4 minutes (let's assume)because of chemical reactions.
.whenever we experiment something we get results, now these results help us to understand the properties of food, in this case, the result is white slices of apple turning into brown colour after 4 minutes, in a similar way a lot of tests are performed on the fruit, maybe it is cooked at a specific temperature or refrigerated or maybe the pulp of this fruit is mixed with other ingredients. the results from these tests help us to understand the properties of the fruit. so the study of the nature of the food may be physical-chemical or biochemical properties of food is known as FOOD SCIENCE. we can say food science is basically information.
food scientists on the other hand studies and uses the experiments and results that are provided by food science. they determine and looks for nutritional sources and investigate avenues for making processed foods taste good, safe, and healthy. They also find the best way to distribute, process, preserve and package the food.
In the process of conversion of apple to apple jam, the steps that are involved is defined as food processing .it is performed basically to extend the shelf life of a food product, or maybe the consumer wants apple jam instead of apple, or to make food more appealing to consumers
now to convert apple into apple jam we need certain equipment or machines like knife or blades to cut apple or mixers or blenders to mix the apple or pulp with other ingredients or may need some kind of equipment to take out its seeds. these equipment are used to make the process faster easier and more efficient now one should know this equipment and machineries, so the study of all the machinery or equipment that are used in the processing of food products to make it easier and efficient is known as food engineering.
All the food safety measures GMPs, GHPs, and HACCP principals,s safety standards and regulations are applied during this processing of food to ensure food safety and protect it from contamination, making it fit for consumption.
