Food Science: Program Overview, Universities, Careers & Salaries

Program Overview

Food Science is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding the scientific and technical processes behind transforming raw agricultural ingredients into safe, nutritious, and high-quality food products for human consumption. This program integrates core principles from biology, chemistry, and physics to address challenges in food production, preservation, safety, and sustainability across the supply chain.

• Food Chemistry: Explores the molecular composition of food, including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins, and how these components behave during processing, storage, and cooking.
• Food Processing Technologies: Covers methods used to transform raw ingredients into finished food products, such as pasteurization, extrusion, drying, and fermentation, with an emphasis on efficiency and quality retention.
• Human Nutrition and Physiology: Investigates how food impacts bodily functions, metabolic processes, and long-term health, providing a foundation for developing nutritionally optimized food systems.
• Food Safety and Toxicology: Focuses on identifying and mitigating biological, chemical, and physical hazards in food, including pathogens, allergens, and contaminants, to ensure consumer protection.
• Food Packaging and Preservation: Examines materials and techniques used to extend shelf life, maintain freshness, and prevent spoilage while supporting sustainable packaging solutions.
• Agricultural Product Integration: Studies the relationship between raw agricultural inputs and final food outputs, emphasizing traceability, quality control, and post-harvest handling.
• Regulatory and Quality Assurance Systems: Addresses compliance with food laws, standards, and certification protocols, including HACCP, ISO, and FDA guidelines, to uphold safety and consistency.