AUIS, Spring 2018

Introduction to food science

What is Food Science
 Food is defined as anything solid or liquid which when swallowed, digested
and assimilated, nourishes the body.

 Food Science: is the study of all the technical aspects of food, beginning with
harvesting, storing , processing, cooking and consumption.
 Food technology is the use of the information generated by food science in the selection,
preservation, processing, packaging, and distribution, as it affects the consumption of safe,
nutritious and wholesome food.
 Study of food science also includes understanding the nutritive value of different foods and
methods of preserving them during cooking. This information provides a foundation of
theory and method on which to build the study of food preparation.
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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Why Food Science?
1. Food is necessary for survival, growth, physical
ability, and good health.

2. Food processing, preparing, and serving

comprise the world's largest industry.
 Sub disciplines of food sciences
 Food Microbiology
 Food Engineering
 Food Preservation
 Food safety
 Product Development
 Sensory Analysis

 Food additive is defined as non-nutritive substances added intentionally to

food, generally in small quantities to improve its appearance, flavour, texture or
storage properties. Herbs, spices, salt, yeast, water, air and protein
hydrolysates are excluded from this definition.
 Food fortification is defined as the process whereby nutrients are added to
foods in relatively small quantities to maintain or improve the quality of the
diet of a group, a community or a population (WHO).

Type of nutrients
Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins are energy-yielding nutrients
 Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins are organic Macronutrients (constitute
the major portion of most foods and are required in a relatively large
amounts in the body.
 Vitamins and Minerals are inorganic Micronutrients (are needed in a
small amounts in the diet).
Examples of food composition
Tea
No Macronutrients
Lots of antioxidants

Chocolates
Lots of Carbohydrate
Good amount of fat
Some protein
Lots of antioxidants

Salmon
Little Carbohydrate
Good amount of fat
Lots of protein
Lots of antioxidants
Understanding our food choices
Food choices are influenced by:

1. What is available to us
2. where we live
3. what is within our budget and compatible with our lifestyle
4. what we like,
5. what is culturally acceptable
6. what our emotional and psychological needs are
7. what we think we should eat (health concerns)
Making the Right Food choices
 Hunger vs Appetite Why do you eat?
 Right Vs Wrong What’s in your fridge?
 Good Vs Bad Where do you go out to eat?

What do you think about when you buy/eat food?

Do you ask your self these Qs?

Which one?

200 Cal
FUNCTIONS OF FOOD
1) Energy yielding: This group includes foods rich in carbohydrate, fat and protein. One gram
of carbohydrate gives 4 calories. One gram of protein gives 4 calories. One gram of fat gives
9 calories

2) Body building: Foods rich in protein are called body-building foods.

3) Protection and regulation: Foods rich in protein, vitamins and minerals have regulatory
functions in the body e.g., maintaining the heart beat, water balance, temperature.

4) Maintenance of health: Food contains certain phytochemicals and antioxidants which help
in preventing degenerative diseases.
 Food groups

Food groups suggested by ICMR.

 1- Cereals and Pulses:
• Cereals and millets: Rice, wheat.. etc.
• Pulses and legumes: peas (dry), soyabeans
2. Milk and Animal Products:
• Milk, curd, skimmed milk, cheese
• Chicken, liver, fish, egg and meat.
3. Vegetables and Fruits:
• Green leafy vegetables:
spinach, corriander leaves
• Other vegetables: Carrots, onion,
ladies finger, beans, cauliflower.
Fruits: Mango, tomato, orange, sweet lime,
• watermelon.
4. Oils, Fats and Nuts:
• Oils and Fats: Butter, hydrogenated
fat, cooking oils.
• Sugar and Nuts.
Basic four
Energy, protein, invisible fat, suggested by ICMR
thiamine, riboflavin, iron and fiber.
Energy, protein, invisible fat, thiamine,
riboflavin, folic acid, iron and fibre.
Protein, fat, riboflavin, calcium.
Protein, fat and iron.
Riboflavin, folic acid, calcium, fiber,
iron, carotenoids.
Carotenoids and fiber.
Carotenoids, vitamin C, riboflavin, folic
acid, iron and fibre.
Energy, essential fatty acids
and fat soluble vitamins.
Energy
Protein and ω-fatty acids
A diet which contains different types of food possessing the
nutrients- Carbohydrate, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and
water –in a proportion to meet the requirement of the body.

 Balanced diet :
Diet that provide adequate amount of all nutrients

 Malnutrition:
Caused by incorrect amount of nutrient intake.
 Metabolism :
Changes taking place in the body as result of
body activity

 Anabolism:
Complex molecules are synthesized from simpler
ones

 Catabolism:
Complex molecules are broken to simpler ones
 Balanced diet achieved by eating variety of
food.

 There is no single food with correct amount of

all essential nutrients.

 Eating
a balanced diet requires a certain
amount of knowledge and planning.
• The basic composition of balanced diet is highly
variable as it differs from country to country depending
on the availability of food.

• Social & cultural habits, economic status, age, sex

&physical activity of the individual largely influence the
in take of diet
 Why a Balanced Diet Is Important

 body’s organs and tissues need proper nutrition to work

effectively.

 Without good nutrition, body is more prone to

disease, infection, fatigue, and poor performance.

 Children with a poor diet run the risk of growth and

developmental problems. Bad eating habits can
continue for the rest of their lives.
FOOD PYRAMID
A food pyramid is a pyramid – shaped diagram
representing the optimal number of servings to be eaten
each day from each of the basic food groups.
FOOD PYRAMID

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FOOD PYRAMID

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In planning balanced diets, food should be
chosen from each group in sufficient
quantity.

 Cereals and pulses should be taken adequately

 fruits and vegetables liberally
 animal foods moderately
 oils and sugars sparingly
Cooking

 The process of subjecting foods to the action of heat is termed as

cooking.

 Food preparation helps in combining food ingredients in various ways with

delicate flavours, textures and colour which appeal to the senses.

 Foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts are eaten raw but most of the foods
are cooked to bring about desirable changes.
OBJECTIVES OF COOKING
1- Improves the taste and food quality.
 Cooking improves natural flavour and texture of food
 Too much of cooking lowers the flavour as flavouring compounds are volatile.

2- Destruction of micro-organisms:
 One of the most important methods of protection of food against harmful
micro-organisms is by the application of heat.
3- Improves digestibility
 Cooking softens the connective tissues of meat and the coarse fibres of cereals, pulses and
vegetables so that the digestive period is shortened and gastrointestinal tract is less subjected
to irritation.

4- Increases variety
 By cooking, same food can be made into different dishes. For example, rice can be made into
plain, pulav, lemon rice, biryani, or combination with pulses and idli. Wheat can be made into
chapatis, puri, paratha or halwa

5- Increases consumption of food

 Cooking improves the texture and makes the food chewable. Improvement in texture and
flavour by cooking increases the consumption of food to meet our nutritional requirement.

6- Increases availability of nutrients

Raw egg contains avidin which binds biotin making biotin unavailable to the body. By cooking,
avidin gets denatured and biotin is available to the body. Cooking increases the quality of protein
by making some aminoacids available to the body.
6- Increases antioxidant value
Cooked tomatoes are associated with greater health benefits, compared to uncooked, because
the heating process makes lycopene more easily absorbed by the body. Lycopene – the pigment
present in tomatoes – reduces the risk of some cancers.

6- Concentrates nutrients
This may be due to removal of moisture or using combination of foods or due to cooking
procedures, e.g., sweets.

7- Pesticide residue
Pressure cooking, frying and baking minimise the harmful effect of pesticide residue. Boiling
milk destroys the pesticide residue. In general heating reduces pesticide residues in all
substances.
Limitations of cooking

1- Thiamine, which is heat sensitive, may be lost during cooking. Water soluble nutrients are
leached into the water during cooking. Vitamin A and C content may be reduced due to
oxidation and heat.

2- Quality of protein may be reduced due to destruction of certain aminoacids during

cooking e.g., bread crust has less quality of protein compared to the inside portion.
Reference
Srilakshmi, B. (2015). Food science (Chapter 1). India: New Age International Pvt Ltd
Publishers. (Chapter 1 is available online)
http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/000294.pdf