IFAL: Chemical Tech 3 - Food Technology

• Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Alagoas - IFAL offers a technical course in chemistry, specifically Chemical Technology 3.
• The course includes the technology of foods.
• The teacher is Iara Barros Valentim.

Food Technology Topics

• The importance of studying food
• The nutritional aspects of food
• The concept of food and its classification
• Unitary operations in the food industry
• Types of food alterations
• Cleaning and sanitation processes
• Methods of food preservation
• Food packaging and classification
• Food storage methods

Food Technology Defined

• The Brazilian Society of Food Science and Technology defines food tech as application of methods and techniques for production, storage, processing, packaging, transport, distribution, comercialization, and utilization of food.

Areas Involved

• Nutrition provides a basis for understanding the advantages of nutrients in foods and their effects on the organism.
• Chemistry studies transformations during harvest/storage and helps measure food constituents and their reactions.
• Biology controls undesirable microorganisms and prevents food deterioration.
• Engineering studies processing phases and provides the foundation for product development, structural projects, equipment, and packaging.

Objectives and Applications

• Increase the period in which food remains safe for consumption.
• Improve convenience in the domestic preparation of meals.
• Enable the development of ready-to-consume and semi-prepared products.
• Improve the nutritional value of food by including proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
• Facilitate a wider distribution of foods throughout all seasons.
• Improve safety regarding the hygienic and sanitary conditions of foods.
• Reduce prices due to greater supply and simpler packaging.

Factors Contributing to Food Tech

• Rising global birth rates.
• Boosted food production.
• Socio-labor influences.
• A surge in consumption in situations of emergency.
• Addressing the needs of critical regions and vulnerable communities.
• Maximizing the use of raw materials.
• Modern general knowledge.
• Employment of diet products.
• Market competition.

Types of Food Industries

• Industries that prepare fresh food, including slaughterhouses and companies that select/package vegetables for sale.
• Canning industries.
• Processing industries that manufacture products used to prepare foods, such as salt or flour.
• Industries that produce ready-to-eat foods.

Raw Material Classifications

• Raw materials are commonly divided into animal, vegetable, and mineral origin.

Raw Materials of Animal Origin

• Meats include beef, pork, goat, chicken, turkey, duck, etc.
• Milk comes from the complete milking of cows.
• Fish includes fish, crustaceans, and some mammals.
• Honey is a sugary product made by bees from flower nectar.
• Eggs are obtained from farm birds.

Raw Materials of Vegetable Origin

• Cereals are represented by rice, wheat, corn, rye, barley and oats.
• Legumes and vegetables include fruits or seeds from various plant species, mainly legumes.
• Aromatic plants and spices are used as flavoring agents, such as saffron, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, bay leaf, and mustard.
• Saccharides are based on usage of sugar cane to procure sugar.

Raw Materials of Mineral Origin

• Includes liquids or solids, liquids include plain water and solids are represented by sea salt.

Basic Unitary Operations

• Unitary operations in food processing involve a combination of procedures to modify raw materials.
• Physical processing includes reduction, mixing, extraction by pressing, crystallization, dehydration, distillation, emulsification, evaporation, and heat transfer.
• Chemical processes include the use of food additives, extraction by solvent, and coadjuvant substances such as catalysts, ferments, and gases.

Preparation of Raw Materials

• Cleaning is essential for the safety of the process, equipment, and final product by removing contaminants such as dirt and insects.
• Cleaning can be dry (using air jets) or wet (spraying water on rolling belts).
• Selection involves verifying and separating unsuitable raw materials for disposal or reprocessing.
• Classification separates batches based on size, color, or ripeness for processing/consumption.
• Peeling is used for raw vegetables and fruits, either manually, with steam or hot water.

Important Operations

• Raw material procurement involves actions like harvesting, milking, slaughter or fishing.
• Reception, transport, and storage is the initial stage of raw material handling before industrialization.
• Usually, cleaning produce with chlorinated water reduces microbial load by 90%.
• Transport methods are divided by 80% road, 15-20% rail, and 1-2% river/maritime.
• Raw materials are transported within the industry with hoists, vats, troughs, conveyor belts, or trucks.
• Storage methods are a granel in silos at room temperature with humidity control.
• Alternatively, ingredients are stored in refrigerated cameras, or pressurized tanks for liquids.

Food Definition

• Foods are substances used by animals for matter and energy, enabling vital functions like growth, movement, and reproduction.
• Human diets also include non-essential substances that are part of culture, like alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, seasonings, and preservatives.

Food Classification

• Macronutrients are required in large quantities; including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
• Micronutrients are required in small quantities; including vitamins and minerals.

Macronutrients Detailed

• Macronutrients constitute the major portion of the diet.
• They supply energy and are essential for growth and maintenance.
• Measured in grams.
• They rely on ideal proportions.
• Carbohydrates are the primary energy source for the brain.
• Proteins are essential for the fabrication of protein tissues in the body and also makeup hormones and enzymes.
• Lipids are energy-rich molecules for energy storage that are easily stored and hard to consume.

Micronutrients Detailed

• Micronutrients are needed for the body's maintenance.
• Required in small quantities of milligrams to micrograms.
• They are essential and must be present daily.
• Deficiencies or excesses can cause illness and dysfunctions.
• Thus diet should be balanced.

Vitamins

• Vitamins are organic compounds not synthesized in the organism.
• They are abundantly found in food, but are easily destroyed by heat, acids, light, or certain metals.
• They consist of liposoluble and hydrosoluble varients.

Minerals

• Minerals are inorganic components that form rigid tissue like bones, teeth, and other soft tissues.
• Includes regulatory functions that contribute to osmotic function, acid-base balance, nerve stimulation, heart rhythm, and metabolic activity.
• Can be macro or micro elements.

Types of Food Alterations

• Changes in food that degrade its key attributes.
• These modifications directly influence organoleptic characteristics, chemical composition, physical state, food safety, and nutritional value.

Classified by Resistance

• Stable/non-perishable foods do not easily spoil such as sugar and flour.
• Semi-perishable foods will remain unaltered if properly maintained such as potatoes nuts and apples.
• Perishable foods include those in daily consumption or can change easily such as fish, meat and fruits.
• Food alteration ranges from flavor changes to putrefaction
• Use of altered depend on conservations of qualities

Using Altered Food

• Low intensity or superficial issues let the ingredients be re-used.
• Acidified milk or old bread can be used in recipes.
• Alterations that consume against ingestion are only usable for other applications like fertilizer.

Causes

• Microorganism growth
• Enzymes in foods
• Non-enzymatic chemical reactions
• Insets/rodents
• Physical changes from high heat
• Other agents

Dimensions

• It is possible to classify food alterations by separated types.
• Can be a combined action of causation or of a mixed type.

Microorganism Growth

• Can be either positive or negative
• Common types are mold, yeast and bacteria

Mold

• Multicellular
• Known for growth and looking like cotton.

Yeast

• Used in commercial production such as beer or wine.
• Can ruin some fruit.

Bacteria

• Used for manufacturing items like vinegar, yogurt and cheese.
• Can transmit diseases like salmonella or botulism.
• Pseudomonas ruins fish and dairy.
• Escherichia Coli is a bacteria used for assessing cleaniness.

Enzymes

• Enzyme activity causes food degradation from microorganism.
• They often are harmless.

Enzymes in Tech

• Amylases.
• Invertases.
• Lactase.
• Protectic
• Proteolytic .
• Oxidase.

Browning

• Is an enzymatic reaction that happens when enzymes cause the browning of food.
• Can be resolved by acidity to inhibit pH.

Fats

• Lipase activity causes the breakdown of fat resulting in bad smells.
• Lipase activity occurs with carbonic acids which also aids in mold growth.
• Controlled with thermal temperature and preservatives.

Non-Enzymatic Chemical Reactions

• Oxidation of foods caused by sunlight or metal contact.

Browning

• Is a series of chain like reactions
• Can be from a series is the formation of melanoidins

3 Types of Browning

• Maillard reaction.
• Absorption and ascorbic acid reactions.
• Carmelization.

Maillard Reaction

• Combination with aldeyde, sugars, ketoines and more.
• Creates pigments or coloring.
• Is favored.
• Caramelize the exterior of foods.

Disadvantages in The Maillard Reaction

• Colors and flavors can become undesirable.
• Ex: Powder foods, such as milk or cocoa.
• Soluble to protien which can cause a loss of amino acid.

Factors That Affect Maillard Reactions

• Temperature.
• pH.
• Acidity.
• Type of carbons.
• Type of amino.
• Catalyzation.
• Sulfites.
• Reducing sugars.

Absorption

• Ascorbic is responsible for the discoloration of sugars such as citric acids.

Carmelization

• Occurs when compounds are caramelized during the application of sugar and heat.
• When pure sucrose is heated to 160C is when it turns yellow and then brown.
• It will alter color, aroma, and flavor.

Continued Heating

• Sucrose breaks down and creates acids like acetic acid.
• All are needed to bind everything together during this application
• Caramelization can be autocatalyzed as it speeds up reactions.
• High heat can cause it to burn completely.

Insects and Rodents

• Insects destroy carbs and fruits.
• Insects can make food not safe for consumption
• Rodents are large consumers of resources.

Origins

• Issues include a lack of process due to carelessness.

Emissions

• Occurs as a result of bad manufacturing which affects a lesser degree of defense.

Preservation

• Leads to increase in sensitivity.

Glassware

• Broken equipment leads to bad storage.