Food Engineering at Multiple Scales: Case Studies, Challenges and the Future—A European Perspective

Abstract

A selection of Food Engineering research including food structure engineering, novel emulsification processes, liquid and dry fractionation, Food Engineering challenges and research with comments on European Food Engineering education is covered. Food structure engineering is discussed by using structure formation in freezing and dehydration processes as examples for mixing of water as powder and encapsulation and protection of sensitive active components. Furthermore, a strength parameter is defined for the quantification of material properties in dehydration and storage. Methods to produce uniform emulsion droplets in membrane emulsification are presented as well as the use of whey protein fibrils in layerby-layer interface engineering for encapsulates. Emulsion particles may also be produced to act as multiple reactors for food applications. Future Food Engineering must provide solutions for sustainable food systems and provide technologies allowing energy and water efficiency as well as waste recycling. Dry fractionation provides a novel solution for an energy and water saving separation process applicable to protein purification. Magnetic separation of particles advances protein recovery from wastewater streams. Food Engineering research is moving toward manufacturing of tailor-made foods, sustainable use of resources and research at disciplinary interfaces. Modern food engineers contribute to innovations in food processing methods and utilization of structure-property relationships and reverse engineering principles for systematic use of information of consumer needs to process innovation. Food structure engineering, emulsion engineering, micro-and nanotechnologies, and sustainability of food processing are examples of significant areas of Food Engineering research and innovation. These areas will contribute to future Food Engineering and novel food processes to be adapted by the food industry, including process and product development to achieve improvements in public health and quality of life. Food Engineering skills and real industry problem solving as part of academic programs must show increasing visibility besides emphasized training in communication and other soft skills.

Model discrimination for drying and rehydration kinetics of freeze‐dried tomatoes

“…Generally, freeze‐dried products are rehydrated prior to their use to recover the properties of the fresh product (Krokida & Philippopoulos, ; Prosapio & Norton, , ). In this framework, a distributed manufacturing model could represent an interesting alternative (Baldea, Edgar, Stanley, & Kiss, ; Roos et al, ). In this model, only valuable ingredients are shipped and any other additive or component (such as water) can be added later at the local level.…”

Are we doing our homework? An analysis of food engineering education in Brazil

“…As observed by Roos et al (2016) and Flynn et al (2013), the approach of academia and industry proves to be a determining factor in the professional training of the engineer.…”

“…This result indicates a considerable concern for the solid formation of basic or initial concepts, in addition to providing a foundation for an improved learning experience of supplementary fields encountered by the student. Part of the discussion takes place at international debates (Besterfield-Sacre et al, 2014;Roos et al, 2016;Saguy & Cohen, 2016), which have argued that the solution to increasingly complex problems is the deepening of basic sciences, such as mathematics, statistics, Engineering Sciences represent 24.3% of the average workload of the 21 analyzed programs. Moreover, as shown in Figure 5, this field of knowledge displayed a higher percentage in programs rated as five stars than in the combined averages of programs rated as five and four stars.…”

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“…This result indicates a considerable concern for the solid formation of basic or initial concepts, in addition to providing a foundation for an improved learning experience of supplementary fields encountered by the student. Part of the discussion takes place at international debates (Besterfield-Sacre et al, 2014;Roos et al, 2016;Saguy & Cohen, 2016), which have argued that the solution to increasingly complex problems is the deepening of basic sciences, such as mathematics, statistics, IJFS October 2018 Volume 7 pages [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] An analysis of food engineering education in Brazil 11 Figure 4: Comparative analysis of the Engineering program curriculum: very good (four stars) and excellent (five stars), considering nine fields of knowledge. Source: The authors, based on information available on the websites of the analyzed programs Engineering Sciences represent 24.3% of the average workload of the 21 analyzed programs.…”