Essentials of Food Science and Nutrition

Food Science is the multidisciplinary study of food and the application of knowledge thus gained to the development of food products and processes, the preservation and storage of foods, and the assurance of food safety and quality. Nutrition, nourishment, or aliment, is the supply of materials – food – required by organisms and cells to stay alive. In science and human medicine, nutrition is the science or practice of consuming and utilizing food. We know that the food we eat is digested and it is absorbed and utilized by the body. Food helps us in staying healthy. Our diet should be such that it meets our nutritional requirements and thus helps us in our health. Although food occupies the first position in the hierarchy of our needs, ignorance of many basic facts relating to food and nutrition is still widespread. All of us eat food every day – but have we ever paused to consider if our diet is balanced? In fact, do we even know what kinds and amounts of foods would make our diet balanced and lead us toward good health? Buying and cooking foodstuffs is a common experience for all of us. However, when purchasing, do we really know how to select the food items? Do we know the household ways of finding out whether the food item is adulterated? If the diet is not balanced, the result would be malnutrition and nutritional deficiency diseases. So, we find out the type of diet that should be eaten by a person who is suffering from a disease – from fever, diarrhea, and diabetes to hypertension. Activities of food scientists include the development of new food products, design of processes to produce these foods, choice of packaging materials, shelf-life studies, sensory evaluation of products using panels or potential consumers, as well as microbiological and chemical testing. Food scientists may study more fundamental phenomena that are directly linked to the production of food products and its properties. Food science brings together multiple scientific disciplines. It incorporates concepts from fields such as microbiology, chemical engineering, and biochemistry.