Food science is dedicated to the analysis of food.
Food science is the scientific discipline dedicated to the analysis of food . It is a specialty focused on the study of the substances that human beings ingest for subsistence.
Food science investigates the chemical composition , calories , nutrients , physical properties and toxicology of foods , among other properties. The knowledge generated by this area of knowledge is very important when it comes to producing, preserving, manipulating and distributing food substances, especially to reduce the risks of negative effects that they can cause on the health of those who consume them.
It can be said that food science allows us to guarantee the quality of food . By paying attention to the data provided by specialists, you can know how to prepare, store and distribute a product while taking care of food safety . The degree of control that characterizes the food industry today leads us to wonder how humans managed to protect their health centuries ago.
Types of food science
It is possible to differentiate between anthropobromatology and zoobromatology . Anthropobromatology is oriented towards the analysis of foods consumed by humans , while zoobromatology is linked to foods intended for animals.
It is important to highlight that in the State there are usually various offices or agencies dedicated to food food control . Its objective is that foods that can cause health problems are not offered to the public. Suppose that, in a restaurant, hygiene is not taken care of in the kitchen. That is why dishes contain harmful bacteria that can cause poisoning. Upon noticing this situation after a food control, the authorities decided to close the restaurant until its working conditions improve and it can offer food that does not put the health of diners at risk.
Food science relies on other branches and concepts to carry out its studies on food, and among them are healthiness, organolepsy, nutritional value and analytical chemistry.
Control of food safety is very important in restaurants.
Related concepts
By healthiness we understand all the qualities or characteristics of a product that present it as beneficial to health, or "not harmful." It can also be defined as the general health status of a particular geographic area (for example: "the health of this city remains unchanged" ). Healthiness appears in different typical situations in human life, such as urbanization projects, where it is important to preserve this aspect of life, as well as safety .
Organolepsy , for its part, refers to a series of properties called organoleptics that serve to describe the physical features of matter, according to what we can perceive through our senses: temperature, color, smell, texture and flavor, among others. The importance of its study lies in the fact that it allows an initial evaluation without the need to resort to measurement instruments.
With respect to nutritional value , it is derived from the proportion of chemicals present in foods that allow cells to carry out the functions necessary for their development. The cell takes nutrients and transforms them into cellular constituents through anabolism , a metabolic process that breaks them down to obtain energy and other molecules. Precisely, through food we obtain the energy to maintain our health and function properly.
Analytical chemistry , finally, has the objective of studying the chemical composition of materials using various laboratory methods. Food science takes advantage of this branch of chemistry to analyze foods in different ways, taking into account chemical reactions and physical interactions to determine their quality and guarantee safety to consumers.