Why Do We Need Food Scientists And Technologists?

WHY DO WE NEED FOOD SCIENTISTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS?
To help the health and well-being of the nation depends on the ready availability of good quality food. How to feed 60 million people and ensure the safety and quality of the food products that they eat? That's partly the work of the Food Scientist. How does the food we eat impact on our health, for better or worse? That's
our work too. How can food companies develop new products linked to optimal nutrition? And perhaps, most importantly, who is advising Government about food security and the role that we have to play in the future security and sustainability of the world's food supply.


1. PROCESSED FOOD
To some people the terms "food processing" and "processed food" are synonymous with ready meals laden with fat and salt. This is, however, a very misleading picture of food processing. At its simplest, the harvest, packing, transport and storage of fresh produce is a food process. The processed food industry currently covers many sectors such as dairy (fresh milk, UHT milk, yoghurts, ice cream), baking (sliced bread, bread rolls, cakes, home bake products, biscuits), cereals (breakfast cereal products, mueslis, cereal bars), snack foods (crisps and snacks, nuts), confectionery (chocolate and sweets), eggs, prepared vegetables (washed and cut vegetables, mixed salad leaves in bags), canned products, frozen foods, tea and coffee, soft drinks, wine and beer and fresh produce (vegetables, meat and fish). In short, the food that makes up a vast proportion of our weekly shop.


2. FOOD SECURITY
Food scientists and technologists play a key role in converting raw farm produce into food products ready for consumption. The goal must be to convert as much produce as possible into good wholesome products with a minimum of energy consumption and waste throughout processing, packaging and distribution.
Food security is required in terms of Food Availability, Food Access and Food Utilization. 
Food Availability is achieved when sufficient quantities of food are consistently available to all individuals within all the states in Nigeria. 
Food Access ensured that all households and all individuals within them have adequate resources to obtain appropriate food for a nutritional diet within the country.
Food Utilization is the proper biological use of food, requiring a diet providing sufficient energy and nutrients, potable water and adequate sanitation. 
The food supply chain leads from farm to fork and food scientists and technologists play a key role in converting raw farm produce into food products ready for consumption. The goal must be to convert as much produce as possible into good wholesome products with a minimum of energy consumption and waste throughout processing, packaging and distribution.


3. HEALTH
While there is an increasing demand for convenience foods such as ready meals and bags of salad to fit in with our busy lives, we are all more aware of the risks of too high consumption of salt (Hypertension) and Saturated fats (Heart Diseases). Food scientists are needed to find that difficult balance between reformulating food products to reduce levels of salt, saturated fats while ensuring their functional roles within food products are not lost. Obesity is an increasing problem for society affecting nearly a quarter of adults and a fifth of children. Tackling this problem will involve food and nutritional scientists and technologists. Research is giving us increased understanding of how food products impact on satiety and the physiology of the gut, hopefully allowing the formulation of food products with reduced potential for contributing to obesity.


4. FOOD CHOICE
Understanding how to make a product palatable to consumers is the job of sensory analysis. This branch of food science aims to understand how we taste and smell food before reaching out to consumers. 
CONCLUSION
Above all, we will need 45,000 skilled food scientists over the next decade to respond to these challenges. These aspiring men and women will have food science and food technology degrees and will be the foot soldiers in ensuring we produce enough of the right stuff to keep us alive!