29A-7 |
Food engineering education in Turkey: Past, today and future |
D. BOYACIOGLU and M. H. Boyacioglu. Food Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul, 34469, Turkey Food Engineering is a multidisciplinary field of applied science based on the application of basic engineering knowledge on production, manufacturing, storage and distribution of high quality, safe, economical, and value-added foods with improved sensory and nutritional properties. The food processing industry, along with the textile and leather industries, is one of the most competitive and outstanding sectors of the Turkish economy. This sector transforms a growing share of Turkish agricultural production into processed commodities and makes it available for both the domestic and export markets. In Turkey, the demand of the food industry for technical human resources was met by a variety of professions such as agricultural engineers, chemical engineers, veterinarians, biologists, pharmacists, etc. for many years. In the last two decades, however, mostly as a result of globalization, the highly competitive agro-industry markets increased their demands of quality of engineers to those who can design foods, systems and processes. Hence, specific food engineering programs were initiated in Turkey in 1975 to fill this gap. Food engineers take part in any stage of food manufacturing chain, including the design of processing, handling, packaging and storage requirement and systems, scale-up of prototype food processes, machinery and equipment, product/process development, regulation and protection of public health, and technical sales. Therefore, their education should provide an understanding of the interactions of disciplines of engineering, biology, and food science in every aspect of the food production, distribution chain, including manufacturing, process, research and development, equipment and product design, product storage and preservation, and packaging. Food engineering programs in Turkey are the only B.S programs in the food science and technology area. The future developments in the food engineering education will emphasize a need for accreditation of programs to be recognized internationally.
Session 29A, Education: General
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