Most people are unaware that the Food Industry
is the largest manufacturing industry in the UK, but this is so.
It is an industry, moreover, which is becoming increasingly dependent
upon the application of science in order to understand and control
raw materials, processes and products.
Legislation, both UK and European, now largely controls the ways
in which foods are produced and the ways in which food products
must be described and labelled. The result of all this is that the
industry is becoming more and more reliant on scientists, food scientists,
to maintain and improve food quality and ensure legislative compliance.
Food Science deals with the structure and behaviour of food materials,
and the changes which occur at the macro and the molecular level
in foods when they are stored or processed. Such changes are particularly
important when heat is employed in commercial operations or when
food is cooked in the home. A food scientist must understand the
scientific basis of the technical processes used to produce and
prepare foods, whether these processes are traditional, such as
the baking of bread, or involve modern technology such as the use
of microwave ovens. A food scientist must also understand a number
of fundamental pure science subjects, particularly chemistry, biochemistry,
microbiology and mathematics and statistics and be able to apply
such knowledge to foods and their behaviour.
For example, chemical analysis - relying less nowadays on ‘wet
chemical’ methods and increasingly on sophisticated instrumental
techniques such as various forms of spectroscopy and chromatography
- is essential, not only to control food quality, but also to derive
the nutritional and other information which must appear on packaging
labels. Organic chemistry is required to understand the behaviour
of those molecules (usually of molecular weight below 400 daltons)
which are present and which variously contribute to nutritive quality
and influence properties such as colour, flavour and resistance
to oxidative deterioration. Biochemistry forms the basis for understanding
the role of enzymes in foods. Enzymes in foods are responsible for
phenomena as diverse as the ripening of fruits, ripening of cheeses,
post-mortem changes in meats and deterioration in many foods upon
storage. A food scientist must understand and seek to control such
changes.
The appearance and texture of a food is extremely important, it
must be attractive if the food is to be purchased and consumed with
pleasure and the experience repeated. These attributes can be understood
through the application of physics and physical chemistry. Similarly,
phenomena such as the elasticity of dough (essential to the production
of bread) and the specific characteristics of colloids (e.g. milk)
and gels (e.g. table jellies) can be understood and exploited through
the application of physical sciences.
Microbiology is a vitally important foundation of food science,
not only because of the hazard to health which arises from any lack
of hygiene when food is handled, but also because a controlled use
of micro-organisms is essential to the production of a wide range
of foods and beverages such as cheese, yoghurt, bread, wine and
beer.
Food additives have rightly become of great concern to the general
public. However, the use of these substances (which imitate the
action of natural food constituents) is very strictly controlled
and the food scientist must understand what substances are allowed,
when their use is justified, how they function and how their presence
may be established and measured.
Food technology, as distinct from food science, relates to the
practicalities of food preservation and the ‘manufacture’
of a large and diverse range of good products. The food technologist
is more concerned with the practical operation of food processing
equipment and carrying out processes than understanding in depth
the underlying science which governs the processes being carried
out. However, it is not possible to draw a hard and fast line between
the two disciplines - the food technologist must understand much
of the science which underpins the technology and the scientist,
in turn, must be able to apply scientific knowledge to technological
operations.
Most food science university courses include an element of food
technology (e.g. Nottingham University, Leeds University - where
we prefer the term ‘food processing’) and some degree
of specialisation in technology may be possible, a certain amount
of science is , of course, essential for food technologists and
is included in all such courses. A number of institutions (e.g.
Reading University) offer separate courses in food science and food
technology. Food technology courses frequently include an industrial
placement (sandwich courses) as do some food science courses.
Combined Honours or Joint Honours degree courses, in which food
science can be coupled with another, usually related, discipline
such as biochemistry, chemistry, microbiology or nutrition, are
offered by a number of traditional universities (e.g. Leeds, Reading,
Surrey) and, with the absorption of polytechnics and certain colleges
into the university sector, the number of available food science,
food technology and related courses has expanded somewhat in recent
years.
Food science and food technology are vocational courses and the
relatively small number of courses available means that, in most
years, the supply of good graduates in the two disciplines is less
than that required to meet the demand so that employment prospects
remain excellent. Careers are varied and challenging and range from
those in food production through quality control to fundamental
research. It should also be remembered that most food production
companies are specialists and therefore their products, and the
associated science, differ from company to company.
So, if you are scientifically inclined but don’t wish to study
a traditional single science subject and would rather follow a challenging
multi-disciplinary subject with good employment prospects, consider
food science or food technology.
All food science and technology courses in universities are included
in the UCAS handbook.
The Author: J W Gramshaw, Procter Department of Food Science,
University of Leeds
This article first appeared in Studying Abroad magazine
