Food Science & Technology 101
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© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
Agenda
• What is Food Science and Technology?
• Careers in Food Science
• Education
• Internships
• Questions
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Have you ever wondered?
• If low fat cookies taste the same
as regular ones?
• Or how the flavor of a new food
product is chosen?
• Or why packaged ready-to-eat cut
fruit stays crisp and does not turn
brown?
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Then Food Science may be a career for you!!
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What is Food Science?
Food Science is the discipline in which
biology, physical sciences, and
engineering are used to study the nature
of foods, the causes of their deterioration,
and the principles underlying food
processing.
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What is Food Technology?
Food Technology is the
application of food science to
the selection, preservation,
processing, packaging,
distribution, and use of safe,
nutritious, and wholesome
food.
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What does a Food Scientist do?
A Food Scientist studies the physical, microbiological, and
chemical makeup of food. Depending on their area of
specialization, Food Scientists may develop ways to
process, preserve, package, or store food, according to
industry and government specifications and regulations.
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The Myths About Food Science
• Food Science is NOT Home Economics
• Food Science is NOT Only Nutrition
• Food Science is NOT Only Cooking
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Why Food Science?
• The food industry is the 2nd largest manufacturing sector
with more than $600 billion in retail sales
• There are generally more positions available than
graduating students to fill them
 The USDA reports that between 2005 and 2010, U.S. universities will
not graduate enough people with food, agriculture, and natural
resource degrees to meet demand
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Why Food Science?
• It is an applied science: You could see the product you
worked on in the grocery store.
• It’s fun! Food scientists get to play with their food!
• It’s exciting! Food scientists never get bored. They work in
the lab, in the pilot plant, and travel to different plants
sometimes all around the world.
The Food Network’s Alton Brown at IFT’s 2006 Annual Meeting
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Why Food Science?
In 2005:
• The median starting salary was
$48,000
• The median salary was $78,000
• The median salary by degree
was:
 BS: $70,000
 MS: $76,000
 Ph.D.: $92,500
Source: Food Technology magazine, February 2006
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Who can you work for?
• Food processors
• Ingredient manufacturer/suppliers
• Academia
• Self-employed/Consultant
• Government
• Non-government organizations
• Foodservice
• Testing laboratory
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What kind of jobs are available?
• Product Development Scientist
• Operations
• Processing Engineer
• Logistics
• Microbiologist
• Supply Chain Management
• Sensory Scientist
• Marketing
• Culinary Scientist
• Regulatory Affairs
• Flavor Chemist
• Legal Affairs
• Packaging Engineer
• Government Relations
• Analytical Chemist
• Quality Assurance
• Academia
• Food Safety
• Government Official
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Process Engineer
• Develops processing procedures and
equipment
 New Product Development/Brand
Maintenance
Case Study: Juice
• Develops processes and equipment to
process new products and flavors
 Quality Improvements
• Improves processes and equipment
to improve efficiency and quality
of products
• Responsibilities:
 Bench-top/Pilot plant process/equipment
development
 Testing
 Scale-up/Commercialization
 Troubleshooting
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
To ensure a juice product has a long shelf life,
process engineers determine how long and at what
temperature the product should be pasteurized
using a HTST (High Temperature Short Time)
Pasteurizer
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Food Microbiologist
• Contributes to the knowledge about the
behavior of microorganisms in food and
processing environments
Case Study: Juice
 New products/Brand maintenance
• Conducts tests to verify shelf-life of new food
products
 Research
• Develops new and/or rapid testing methods
• Studies “good” (those responsible
for fermentation) and “bad” (those responsible
for food borne illness) bacteria
• Responsibilities
Food microbiologists validate
the pasteurization of juice to
ensure pathogens such as
E.coli 0157:H7 will
not survive and cause
foodborne illness.
 Experimental design
 Perform, analyze, and report experimental results
 Troubleshooting
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Product Development Scientist
• Responsible for product formulations
 New Product Development
• Takes a product from concept to formulation
 Brand Maintenance
• Creates line extensions (i.e. new flavors)
 Quality Improvement
• Makes changes as necessary (i.e. supply
chain interruption, consumer complaints)
• Responsibilities:
 Bench-top development
 Testing
 Plant scale-up
 Commercialization
 Troubleshooting
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
Case Study: Juice
To formulate a juice beverage,
product development scientists
can use a variety of ingredients
including: fruit juices,
juices from concentrate, and juice
flavors
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Chemist
Case Study: Juice
• Analytical Chemist
 Analyzes and conducts tests on products and
ingredients
 Determines and sets specifications
• Flavor Chemist
 Develops flavors for the flavor and food industries
and/or investigates the compounds responsible for
flavor in food products
• Responsibilities







Bench-top/Pilot plant
Testing
Scale-up
Commercialization
Troubleshoot
Experimental design
Perform, analyze, and report experimental results
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
A chemist from the USDA
prepares to analyze limonoids
in orange juice. Some
limonoids are bitter, and the
presence of these limonoids in
high concentrations
reduces the acceptability of
citrus juices to consumers and
forces citrus juice producers to
lower the bitter limonoid
content through juice-blending
dilution or the removal of bitter
limonoids.
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Sensory Scientist
• Evokes, measures, analyzes and interprets those
responses to products that are perceived by the
senses
 New Product Development/Brand Maintenance
• Investigates what consumers like and why
 Quality Improvement
• Investigates whether consumers can
tell a difference when an ingredient
in a product is changed, they may also
determine if the change was preferred
 Basic Research
• Studies perception and develops and/or
improves testing methodologies
Case Study: Juice
Sensory Scientists can conduct
tests to determine if
consumers like pulp
in their juice. Red lights are
sometimes used to mask
visual differences.
• Responsibilities:




Designs sensory experiments
Analyzes results using statistics
Reports experimental results to product development
Troubleshooting
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Packaging Engineer
• Develops the packaging for food products
 New products/Brand maintenance
• Develops packaging for new and
current products
• Develops new forms of packaging
 Quality improvements
• Develops packaging that is easier to use
and easier to open
• Responsibilities:
 Bench-top/Pilot plant process/equipment
development
 Testing
 Scale-up/Commercialization
 Troubleshoot
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
Case Study: Juice
Packaging engineers
develop new types of
packaging such as the
Sensory Straw which has
a flat top with four small
holes. When a kid takes a
sip, the liquid flows in all
four directions at the
same time!
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Quality Control
• Ensures that food products meet the
desired specifications
 Supplier Management- Ingredient and
Packaging Management & Approval
 Co-Manufacturing and Co-Packaging
Management & Approval
 Operations Quality- Support Manufacturing
Facilities
 New Product Innovation- Responsible for
Quality Support on Innovation Initiatives
Case Study: Juice
Quality Control
Specialists may check to
ensure that the juice has
the proper pH, or acidity.
• Responsibilities:
 Testing
• Microbial
• Chemical
• Other product specifications
 Troubleshoot
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Consumer Safety Officer
• Responsible for publishing, implementing, and
enforcing regulations for government agencies
 Investigates complaints of injury, illness, or death
caused by a regulated product
 Initiates actions against violators
 Advises industry, state and local officials and
consumers on enforcement policies, methods,
and interpretation of regulations
 Plans and directs regulatory programs
 Develops inspection procedures and techniques
• Responsibilities:
 Rulemaking
 Inspection/Enforcement
 Troubleshooting
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
Case Study: Juice
Consumer Safety Officers from
the FDA have jurisdiction over
the labeling of juice. According
to Title 21 Section 102.33 of the
Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), beverages that are 100%
juice may be called "juice."
However, beverages that are
diluted to less than
100% juice must have the
word "juice" qualified with
a term such as "beverage,"
"drink," or "cocktail."
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It takes a lot of work and resources to make a food product!
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How do you become a food scientist?
• Attend an IFT approved college degree program
 Eligible for scholarships
 Eligible to participate in competitions
• Gain hands on experience
 Research lab
 Internship
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IFT Approved Schools
• Alabama A&M University
• University of Florida
• University of Alberta
• University of Georgia
• University of Arkansas
• University of Guelph
• Auburn University
• University of Idaho
• Brigham Young University
• University of Illinois
• University of British Columbia
• Iowa State University
• University of California-Davis
• Kansas State University
• California Polytechnic State University
• University of Kentucky
• California State University, Fresno
• Louisiana State University
• Clemson University
• University of Maine
• Cornell University
• University of Manitoba
• University of Delaware
• University of Maryland
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IFT Approved Schools Continued…
• University of Massachusetts
• Oregon State University
• McGill University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Instituto Technologico y de Estudios
Superiores De Monterrey
• Purdue University
• Michigan State University
• University of Minnesota
• Mississippi State University
• University of Missouri
• University of Nebraska
• North Carolina State University
• North Dakota State University
• Ohio State University
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
• Rutgers-The State University
• San Jose State University
• University of Tennessee
• Texas A&M University
• Tuskegee University
• Utah State University
• Virginia Tech
• Washington State University
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Typical Food Science Curriculum
• Biology
• Food Analysis
• Chemistry
• Food Processing
• Physics
• Product Development
• Organic Chemistry
• Sensory Analysis
• Math/Calculus
• Nutrition
• Biochemistry
• Commodities (milk, meat, produce)
• Quantitative Analysis
• Social Science
• Physical Chemistry
• Foreign Language
• Food
• Economics
• Law
• Statistics
• Food Chemistry
• English
• Food Engineering
• Communications
• Food Microbiology
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Degree Options
• Food Science
 Concentrations include: Operations Management, Sensory
Evaluation, Food Chemistry, Food Microbiology, Food Engineering,
Food Safety, Food Packaging, Food Policy, and others…
 Degrees are offered at the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. level
• Related Degrees:
 Biochemistry
 Engineering
 Chemistry
 Packaging Science
 Nutrition Science
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Other programs
• Certified Culinary Scientist (CCS)
 Food Science + Food Service Experience + CCS Validation Exam
• Culinology Degree:
 Cal Poly Pomona/Orange Coast College
 Cal State University, Fresno
 Clemson University
 Dominican University/Kendall College
 Southwest Minnesota State University
 University of Nebraska-Lincoln / Metropolitan Community College
 University of Cincinnati / Cincinnati State Technical and Community
College
 University of Massachusetts-Amherst
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Study Abroad Opportunities
• International Food Laws in Western Europe
 Offered by Michigan State University
 Travels to UK, France, Switzerland and Italy
• International Food Laws in Asia
 Offered by Michigan State University
 Travels to Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong
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Are there scholarships?
• Yes!
• The Institute of Food Technologist’s offers scholarships to
high school graduates or seniors expecting to graduate from
high school entering college for the first time in an approved
food science/technology program.
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Hands on Experience
• Research Assistanships
 Most labs on campus will hire undergraduate students to conduct
research
 Many positions are paid!!
 They are a great opportunity to apply what you will learn in class
• Internships
 Major food companies offer internships to undergraduate and
graduate students
 They usually hire a variety of majors (food science, chemistry, biology,
engineering)
 Placement can be in the plant or in research & development
 Many of them include housing and are paid!!
 They are a great opportunity to see how the food industry works
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What can you do now?
• Talk to your guidance counselor
 Ask to see the Careers in food
science resource packet they
received from IFT and Discovery
Education in 2006
• Talk to your science teachers
 Ask them about The science
and scientists behind the food
resource packet they received
from IFT and Discover Education
in 2006
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What can you do now?
• Gain experience
 Join a club
• Science Olympiad
• Future Farmers of America (FFA)
 Conduct independent research
• At your school
• At a local university
• Many universities have summer
research programs for high
school students in food science
 Intern/Co-Op
• Contact a local plant or food
company
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Want to learn more?
• Visit:
 http://www.ift.org
 http://school.discovery.com/foodscience/
• Find a Food Scientist:
 A database of IFT members who are willing to
provide more information about the field of food
science to you
 http://members.ift.org/IFT/Education/TeacherResources/findafoodscientist.htm
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Questions?
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Headquarters
525 W. Van Buren Street
Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60607
312.782.8424
ift.org
Washington, D.C. Office
1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 503
Washington, D.C. 20036
202.466.5980