So just for information sake, I'd like to make clear to all who wonder .... what/who in the name of hell is a Food Scientist/Food Technologist?
I mean what makes your face light up like a 100 W bulb the moment you hear me say "I'm a Food Technologist"?
No I'm not a chef (no offense to them)
No I'm not a restaurant manager, and
No I'm not a cook (in the most literal sense)
The bulb's dimmed by this point, the light replaced by a questioning frown... its' inevitable.... the presumption you made so quickly, based probably on the word 'food' remains just that, a presumption
I get down to the job of clearing this misconception, at times with a sigh of resignation....
You see .... to be a food scientist, you don't necessarily have to know how to cook or have a passion for cooking as such..... as maybe a chef would have...
In the industry, scientists churn out new recipes too.... but we treat cooking as science, more than art... create a fool-proof formula (read recipe) that will withstand variations in ingredients, processing, people who prepare the product...
You see:
Food technology, is the application of food science to the selection, developing, processing, preservation, packaging, distribution and use of ingredients to create safe, nutritious and wholesome food. (yes... it is quite debatable if all products we create are nutritious and wholesome)
Hence; Food scientists and food technologists study the physical, microbiological, and chemical properties of food. Depending on their area of specialization, Food Scientists develop ways to process, preserve, package, or/and store food, according to industry and government specifications and regulations.
Consumers (like you) seldom think of the vast array of foods and the research and development that is involved in creating each one of them, so as to deliver tasty, nutritious, safe, and convenient foods.
Though our lot mainly works to creating processed foods, we also collaborate with chefs to service the food service sector (think restaurant chains... why do you think the food at all Applebee's locations taste the same?) along with other functional groups as engineering, marketing, sales, production, sensory & consumer studies dept, Quality Assurance units etc.
Maybe next time you may stop to think of the effort put in to bring those Doritos/Soy pretzels/Gatorade/Protein bar etc on the shelf that you stare at in the grocery store :-)
Happy eating all!!!
5 comments:
I always wondered if food scientists developed new 'FOOD' products and design of processes to produce these 'FOODS'? But then for that you should probably know how to cook and have knowledge about the amount and proportion of ingredients that go into the food ... no?
Yes we do develop any of the new food products out there... In R&D, you come up with a concept, create a formulation and test it on the bench, gauge consumer acceptance of the concept formula.. if they love it, then move ahead and check the processing/preservation (shelf life analysis)/costing/testingfor the product, scale it up to pilot plant and test. Run sensory tests, consumer tests on large scale, and hand the product to production. You could work in 'Applications', where the goal is to produce a consistent, similar product everytime, troubleshoot issues, work with maintaining quality on the line.
Working in R&D, its an added advantage if you know how to cook, or have a passion for food... conceptulization becomes easier as you can create a formula for an idea (ingredient/process/method choice). If you aren't an avid foodie, then you rely on the knowledge from school... like put protien+carb+fat+flavoring.. technically you can banalce their percentages and come up with a product... I've seen it happen.
I normally tend to cook first, then backtrack and create a technically sound formula (mostly people who cook do this in the lab), unless you are baking... you have to be exact and technical while creating a bakery product... one of the hardest product category to work in.
As for process design or development, chem engg work with us on it. If you have an engg background, it helps you be aware of the processing challenges while developing a product on the bench.
Do I make sense??
Your article is more than interesting for me...Thanks a lot... I'm waiting for some more articles of that sorts... See you soon
Seb LACOUT
Shweta, you're awesome AND you're a food scientist, quite the perfect combo. :)
AND wow, I am completely AMAZED by your photo-taking abilities, all of your pictures are beautiful.
Miss you!
Lauren & Seb,
miss you guys.... keep visiting and commenting... I love hearing back from ya..
Lauren.. Am I getting these compliments for having baked your b'day cake??
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