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Food Processing
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Over the past couple of decades, the role of the engineer in the food industry has gained considerable prominence. The food processing industry is extremely complex, diverse and evolved. With a consumer market becoming evermore sophisticated and demanding, there is a continual need for process innovation. Even allowing for the demands of the consumer for product consistency and quality, the consumer expects excitement, novelty, value for money and a product that is safe in tamper-proof packaging. For the food process engineer, the challenge is to use process plant and associated equipment which is sufficiently flexible to respond to any changes in demand.
The complexity and challenges of food processing engineering is best illustrated by considering the mixing criteria used in the food industry. Process engineers will be more familiar with the handling and mixing of robust components with the aim of achieving homogeneity in which liquids have low viscosity or exhibit straightforward Newtonian behaviour and where scale-up is based on simple power-to-volume ratios.
In contrast, the criteria for food mixing involve ingredients which have complex components with each exhibiting very different chemical and physical properties. They often have high viscosities and exhibit non-Newtonian behaviour. They may also be fragile in nature and easily damaged during high shear mixing in which there is a complex and intimate relationship between the mixing patterns and product characteristics. The scale-up of equipment is governed by the need to maintain textural properties of food.
All of this is further complicated by the need to maintain product quality in terms of texture, colour, appearance, rheology, functionality, aeration, droplet size and particulate integrity particularly when the raw materials used are subject to possible day-to-day and seasonal variations. It is essential that the food products are safe to eat, free from contamination, produced in a safe environment that conforms to food safety standards and other legal requirements. Finally, the process engineer must ensure that the process operation is energy efficient and has minimal environmental impact.
Further, the food process engineer is not only required to have a high regard for all the technical aspects associated with the processing of foods but that the needs and requirements of the consumer are fully appreciated. Consumers are increasingly demanding foods which are nutritious and healthy such as fortified organic and minimally processed foods. There is also a considerable demand for foods which are highly processed such as sausages, burgers, baked beans and dehydrated foods, and foods which have long shelf-life and total sterility such as canned and bottled foods with packaging that is tamper-proof yet can be easily opened.
Carl J. Schaschke - Personal Name
1st Edtion
Food Processing
978-87-7681-780-0
NONE
food processing
Management
English
Ventus Publishing ApS
2011
USA
1-107
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