FOOD AND PROCESS ENGINEERING

The engineering of process operations and food products in agriculture focuses on all points from the initial producer to the final consumer. An on-farm phase of activity deals with the processing and storage of grains, fruits, vegetables, and other products. In contrast, the off-farm processes involve a broad spectrum of commodity modifications that include cotton ginning, feed milling, oil milling, milk processing, baking, meat processing, canning, food manufacturing, and producing chemical stocks from agricultural materials. Opportunities for value enhancements are reflected in many of the primary technical interests that comprise food and process engineering. Some of the key areas of current emphasis are physical properties of materials, grain and feed processing and storage, food processing, special crops processing, transportation and warehousing of agricultural products, fruit and vegetable packinghouse operations, food processing waste management and utilization, farm materials handling, and biomass energy. On-line sensing techniques are presently needed to improve the efficiency of bioreactors and downstream processing equipment. Modified atmosphere packaging offers a substantial extension in the shelf-life of products such as meats, fish, fruits, and vegetables.