Introduction to Food Processing and Preservation

This free online course will begin with novel approaches for processing and preservation of food were discussed. In the initial weeks, the components of the food, food structure and the different reactions like gelatinization, protein denaturation etc., which influence both quality and safety of the food during processing handling and storage.

Week one starts by introducing you to food constituents and their functions and ensures that an acceptable level of food quality and safety is necessary to provide adequate protection for consumers and to facilitate trade, and the factors affecting influencing the quality of food during processing and storage like temperature, time, rate etc. Next we will look at the role of water in food and its influence on the shelf life of the food materials and important aspect of food reactions which normally occur in starch-containing foods i.e. gelatinization and retrogradation processes.

Next we will look at the changes during food processing like browing reactions that occur in many foods when they are
exposed to different conditions during processing, handling or storage. We will look at denaturation, foaming and gelation, and the influence of processes on the characteristics and properties of the food materials in different operations and the principles of food preservation.

Finally we will look at traditionally used food preservation technologies that work on the principle of lowering of temperature of the food and different methods that are traditionally used for preservation of food.