The Beginning, Current, and Future of Food Engineering: A Perspective

Abstract

Food engineering as a discipline is still evolving, and therefore, is developing in various ways in different parts of the world. Much of the documented evolution in both food engineering research and education has occurred in the past 50–75 years. Educational programs in food engineering have been developed at many institutions throughout the world. The origins of these programs can be traced to the 1950s and currently the curricula continue to evolve. Some programs are for degrees in food engineering, while others illustrate the increasing role of food engineering in undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees in food science.

Food engineering research has been developed at educational institutions and within the food industry. Initial focus had been to research specific food commodities such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, and similar raw food materials, but more recently the focus has shifted to applications of engineering principles, to the processes needed to convert raw food materials into safe food products for consumers. The evolution is continuing with an increased focus on new product development in the food industry and a shift in research to parameters impacting ingredients and formulation. This has resulted in a corresponding shift in research with emphasis on the physical properties of compositional components of foods and food ingredients. More recent trends in food engineering research have been in more basic areas, such as molecular biology and nanoscale science.