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LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO FOOD SCIENCE AND PROCESSING

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson the student will be able to:

a. Understand the basic principles of food science and its role in food
processing;
b. Identify the key objectives and importance of studying food science; and
c. Define essential terms and concepts related to food science and processing.

Introduction to Food Science and Processing

Man’s basic drive for food is to satisfy hunger. Food is built in to the physical,
economic, psychological, intellectual and social life of man. It is a part of his culture.

When consumed, foods undergo digestive and other changes to supply the body it’s
requirements. After production and before consumption, foods are subjected to numerous
physical, chemical, microbial or parasitic factors which may cause their spoilage or cause
disease when consumed. To prevent this and to prepare food for immediate or future use, it
requires processing, preservation and storage. Food for consumption should have proper
appearance, color, juiciness, texture, odor and taste.

Food is essential for growth, maintenance, repair and reproduction. It gives

protection against various diseases.

Foods are composed of different kinds of nutrients (> to hundreds). Six general kinds
of nutrients found in foods are: Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and water.
In addition, foods contain enzymes which function as catalysts in chemical reaction, coloring
material and flavor compounds.

Objectives of Studying Food Science and Processing

Study of food science involves the chemical and physical changes taking place when
processed /cooked/ storage/preservation.

1. Retention of nutritive value – primary consideration in the study of food science is

the retention of nutrients during processing. Certain cooking methods and
preparations at home may produce food loss of nutritive value to a considerable
degree from reported value. It is important to cook/process the food with the
maximum retention of nutrients.

2. Palatability – Food is palatable, if taste is acceptable. Palatability involves various

sensory impressions such as odor, taste, texture and other physical properties.

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 Flavor is a complex quality, involving integration of sensations from the nasal cavity,
the taste buds on the tongue and various movement sensors in the mouth. The
primary taste sensations involving taste buds on the tongue are sweet, sour, bitter
and salty. Taste is a combination of both odor and taste sensations. Certain
individuals will have the sense of taste in defecting minute concentrations. The
physical properties of foods such as texture, consistency and shape give a feeling or
touch sensation. Texture is expressed as rough or smooth, coarse or fine, fluid or
solid, moist or dry, compact or porous, tough or tender, hard or soft. Some amount of
sugar may be sweeter at higher temperature than at lower temperature. Appearance
also is extremely important. Without an attractive appearance, many foods are
rejected without being tasted.

3. Digestibility – factors affecting the rate at which food moves in Gastrointestinal

Tract:
 Composition of the food
 Method of preparation
 Amount of food eaten
 Emotional state of the individual
 Physical activity during the digestive process

Foods high in fat usually stay in the stomach longer time, proteins next then
carbohydrates least.

Methods of processing and preparation of food may influence

 rate
 ease or comfort
 completeness of digestion
Eg – hard cooked eggs are more completely digested than soft cooked eggs.
Exercise after meal lowers digestion rate
A mixed meal which contains required amounts of CHO, fat, protein, fiber is
recommended as it is more digestible than any kind of meal containing deficient
in one or two or some nutrients.

4. Economy – at lower income levels, food costs represent a large proportion of the
family budget. But there are some low-cost foods which are nutritious too.

5. To make food safe and wholesome - the following factors are to be considered.
 foods that naturally contain poisonous substances
 foods contaminated with pathogenic microbes
 foods contaminated with toxins produced by micro-organisms
 foods contaminated with other substances during processing, before and after
cooking

1. Animal parasites: parasites such as tape worms, round worms contain species
of protozoa may be common problems. Contaminated though foods or water
carrying these infected agents.

2. Pathogenic micro-organisms:

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  Some pathogens are carried by food even though they are not grown in
food.
 Others may grow in foods under certain conditions of temperature and other
environmental factors destroying microbes.
 Cooking or pasteurization in some cases may avoid these conditions.

3. Food toxins: Food poisoning may result from toxins produced by microbes. The
microbes are destroyed by treating at temperature slightly below the boiling point.

Eg – Staphylococcus quarries – produces a potential toxin which is considered as a

common cause of food poisoning.

It is important to prevent the formation of toxin by hygienic handling of foods and

proper refrigeration. Certain animals may contain natural constituents that are toxic.

Spinach & beet tops - oxalic acid poisoning

Potato - solanin (glycoallcaloid) (developed in sun exposed potatoes)
Ground nut - aflotoxin (aspergillus flavus) (Aflotoxin causes
aflotoxicosis)
Cotton seed - Gossypol
Soya bean - Trypsin inhibitor

Preventive measures –
 Proper washing (with germicidal H2O, salt H2O etc.)
 Proper cooking
 Proper storage

Recent Concepts in Food Science

The desire to spend less time in kitchen, importance attached to leisure, higher living
standards, urge for eating outside home and weakening of family ties etc., creating search
for processed and pre-packed food in convenient and ready to eat forms.

Special food for

 infants
 growing children
 convalescents
 invalids
 old people
 Astronauts
 Defense forces - have been designed and produced.

 Convenient food – Help to minimize cooking time and also effort in cooking. They have
undergone a part of or most of the processing before they are marketed

 Uses:
 convenient
 Easy to prepare
 Less time consuming

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  Available throughout the year
 Stable
 Durable.

 Space foods – Designed by high qualified food technologists for astronauts.

 Has to be special, not bulky, less residual, with all nutrients in required quantities, not
too space consuming, stable at low and high temperature.
 Packed in impermeable packages

 Bio-technology in food – Application of bio-technology in the quantitative improvement

in foods
 nutritionally superior proteins
 less or no anti-nutritional constituents
 raw materials available for processing and preservation.

Ex – Toxin content of lathyrus stivus reduced/ eliminated.

Amylases/ proteases – manufacture of syrups and protein hydrolysater – to make meat
tender
Nutraceuticals – use of food extracts as preventive drugs or food supplements.

Ex – phytonutrients – Disease preventing nutrients present in food stuffs like – phytosterols,

phenols, terpenes
Terpenes – Carotenoids & limonoids – greens, Soya, carrots, tomatoes, orange, spinach
etc.,
Carotenoids – vitamin A processor anti-oxidants – eye disease
Limonoids – vitamin A processor anti-oxidants – protects lung tissues from free O2.
(citrus peel)

Phyto-chemicals - yellow vegs – pumpkin etc.

Decreases Cholesterol absorption
Decrease of tumor in breast and prostate glands.

Phenols - Berries, gray, egg – have protective action against oxidative damage of tissues
and inflammation. Includes flavonoids, anthocyanins, isoflavons.

Natural food colors, bio-active principles from plant sources, value addition to the
byproduct from various food processing industries, environmentally accepted technologies,
water conservation in the processing are the newer areas of development taking place in
food technology.

Definitions

 Food is defined as anything solid or liquid which when swallowed, digested and
assimilated, nourishes the body.

 Food science: Food is a mixture of many different chemical components. The study
of food science involves an understanding of the changes that occur in these
components during food preparation whether natural or included by handling
procedures. Many physical and chemical reactions occur during food preparation.
These reactions may be result of the interaction between components, with the

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 medium of cooking, study of food science also includes understanding the nutritive
value of different foods and methods of preserving them during cooking. This
information provides a foundation of theory and method on which to build the study of
food preparation.

 Food additive: is defined as non-nutritive substances added intentionally to food,

generally in small quantities to improve its appearance, flavor, texture or storage
properties.

 Fermented food: is produced by the action of bacteria or molds which act on

carbohydrates and proteins present in foods and hydrolyze them to simpler products
yielding pre-digested foods.

 Food technology: is the application of principles of food science and engineering to

the processing and perspective large quantities of food.

 Food fortification: is defined as the process whereby nutrients are added to foods in
relatively small quantities to maintain or improve the quality of the diet of a group, a
community or a population (WHO).

 Non-nutrients of foods: are organic compounds having no nutritional function. They

may be toxins or beneficial substances like fiber or compounds that may improve
palatability or pharmacological importance.

 Functional food: provides health benefits beyond the nutrient contribution.

 Phytochemicals: are non-nutrient compounds found in plant derived food that have
biological activity in the body.

 Food safety and regulation: is related to food sanitation in public health and rules
and regulation governing it.

 Antioxidants: include compounds that protect biological systems against the

potentially harmful effects of processes or reaction that can cause excessive
oxidations (USDA).

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