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!!!
