Unit Operations in Food Processing

UNIT OPERATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

This book is designed to give food technologists an understanding of the engineering principles involved in the processing of food products. They may not have to design process equipment in detail but they should understand how the equipment operates.
With an understanding of the basic principles of process engineering, they will be able to develop new food processes and modify existing ones. Food technologists must also be able to make the food process clearly understood by design engineers and by the suppliers of the equipment used.

Only a thorough understanding of the basic sciences applied in the food industry - chemistry, biology and engineering - can prepare the student for working in the complex food industry of today. This book discusses the basic engineering principles and shows how they are important in, and applicable to, every food industry and every food process.

For the food process engineering student, this book will serve as a useful introduction to more specialized studies.

METHOD OF STUDYING FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING

Specialist descriptions of particular food industries.
These in general are written from a descriptive point of view and deal only briefly with engineering.

Textbooks in chemical and biological process engineering.
These are studies of processing operations but they seldom have any direct reference to food processing. However, the basic unit operations apply equally to all process industries, including the food industry.

Engineering handbooks.
These contain considerable data including some information on the properties of food materials.

Periodicals.
In these can often be found the most up-to-date information on specialized equipment and processes, and increased basic knowledge of the unit operations.

A representative list of food processing and engineering textbooks is in the bibliography at the end of the book.

Introduction > BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING