Food Industry: Processes and Technologies

Food processing is any method used to turn fresh foods into food products. This can involve one or a combination of the following: washing, chopping, pasteurizing, freezing, fermenting, packaging and many more. Food processing also includes adding components to food, for example to extend shelf life, or adding vitamins and minerals to improve the nutritional quality of the food. Food Processing and Technology includes a set of physical, chemical or microbiological methods and techniques used to transmute raw ingredients into food and its transformation into other forms in food processing industry. Food processing dates back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated fermenting, sun drying, preserving with salt, and various types of cooking (such as roasting, smoking, steaming, and oven baking). Such basic food processing involved chemical enzymatic changes to the basic structure of food in its natural form, as well served to build a barrier against surface microbial activity that caused rapid decay. Modern food processing technology developed in the 19th and 20th centuries was developed in a large part to serve military needs. In 1809 Nicolas Appert invented a hermetic bottling technique that would preserve food for French troops which ultimately contributed to the development of tinning, and subsequently canning by Peter Durand in 1810. Although initially expensive and somewhat hazardous due to the lead used in cans, canned goods would later become a staple around the world. Pasteurization, discovered by Louis Pasteur in 1864, improved the quality of preserved foods and introduced the wine, beer, and milk preservation. The efficient use of resources is the growing concern for all involved in food production, processing, distribution and retailing. The unique features of the raw materials of the food processing industries such as seasonality, perishability and variability in conjunction with sophistication required for processing to maintain high quality standards, necessitates special attention towards focused availability of qualified technical manpower, effective technologies and efficient machinery. The food industries in the country need modernization to face the challenges of the globalization.