Food Technology

Food Technology, in general, is a material not generally used as food and not usually a typical food ingredient, having or having no nutritional value, which is intentionally added to food for technical purposes in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, storage or transportation of food to produce or be expected to produce (directly or indirectly) a compound that affects the characteristic properties of food.

In a broad sense, food technology is any material added to a food product other than the primary raw material. Specifically, Food Technology is an ingredient added to food to affect the properties or characteristics of food, whether or not it has nutritional value. Food Technology can be added during production, packaging, transportation, or storage.

Functions of food technology

Maintaining the consistency of food products For example, Emulsifiers make food products have a consistent texture; for example, preserved milk does not separate.

Improve or maintain nutritional value. For example, Vitamins and minerals are commonly added to foods such as milk, flour, etc., to meet the dietary needs of people who are malnourished or to maintain or even increase or improve the nutritional content of these foodstuffs that may be lost due to processing.

Maintain the overall flavor and properties of the food product. Example: Preservatives preserve the quality of food products from microbes that can cause product deterioration, e.g., mold or rot.

Maintain the desired level of acidity or basicity of the food. Example: Developing ingredients produce carbon dioxide gas so that the texture of biscuits, cakes, and other similar products expands. Amplify flavor or give a particular desired color. Some artificial and natural spices and flavorings enhance the taste of food. The yellow color from synthetic yellow dye or curcumin from turmeric gives the product a distinctive color.

Benefits of Food Technology

Maintaining consistency of food products For example, Emulsifiers make food products have a consistent texture; for example, preserved milk does not separate.

Improves or maintains nutritional value. For example, Vitamins and minerals are commonly added to foods such as milk, flour, etc., to meet the dietary needs of malnourished people or to maintain or even increase or improve the nutritional content of food ingredients that may be lost due to processing.

Maintain the overall flavor and properties of the food product. Example: Preservatives preserve the quality of food products from microbes that can cause product deterioration, e.g., mold or rot.

Maintain the desired level of acidity or basicity of the food. Example: Developing ingredients produce carbon dioxide gas so that the texture of biscuits, cakes, and other similar products expands.

Amplify flavor or give a particular desired color. Some artificial and natural spices and flavorings enhance the taste of food. The yellow color of the artificial yellow dye food technology tartrazine or curcumin from turmeric gives the product a distinctive color.

Development in Food Technology

Several processes related to food processing have contributed to the field of food technology, especially in the food production and supply chain. Such developments include:

Milk powder has been the basis for manufacturing various new products, from liquid and semi-liquid brewable (rehydrate) items, after being dried into powdered solids. It has also made the milk distribution process more efficient and a forerunner to the development of the infant formula industry.

Decaffeination for coffee and tea, but more widely used on coffee beans to reduce the caffeine content of coffee. Dry coffee beans are processed using steam until the moisture content is around 20%. Heat separates the caffeine from the beans to the skin's surface. Solvents are then applied to remove the caffeine from the beans. Until the 1980s, the solvents used were organic solvents. Carbon dioxide is one of the non-organic solvents used to separate caffeine under supercritical conditions.

Food technology applies the science of food, especially after harvest (post-harvest), to obtain its benefits as optimally as possible and simultaneously increase the added value of the food. In food technology, the physical, microbiological, and chemical properties of food and the processes that process the food are studied. The history of food technology began when Nicolas Appert canned foodstuffs, a process that continues today. But at that time, Nicolas Appert applied it not based on food-related science. The application of food technology based on science was started by Louis Pasteur when he tried to prevent microbial damage to wine fermentation facilities after researching infected grapes. In addition, Pasteur also invented pasteurization, which is the heating of milk and milk products to kill the microbes present in them with minimal changes in the properties of the milk.

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