Food Science: A History

Hello fellow food enthusiasts! As the name of my blog implies, the main topic which shall be discussed about in this and further posts will be regarding Food Science which is essentially including basic science, "soft" science, the culinary arts and techniques, gastronomy, agronomics, economics. microbiology and engineering. The main aim of food science is to turn regular, traditional forms of cooking into somewhat of a specialty product that renders them safe to consume, delicious, readily available and convenient. Food Science was considered an oddity back in the day when it had first started as it involves various disciplines of science and puts what you have learnt into a more practical use.

From the 1900s to our present time, it has provided some parts of the world with food that are safe, relatively cheap and very high in terms of supply. From the years 1900 to 1929, food was an important factor during the World War 1 and the United States of America had been conducting research on developing its food systems which brought up three major problems: preserving of food during the various seasons, dealing with concerns regarding economic problems, building an agronomic system which could provide food supply to various countries including the United States herself.

The years 1925 to 1945 brought about a new age of innovation in the food industry. The Second World War and the Great Depression made the citizens of America want more than what they had which led to fat-reduced food which created a variety of new recipes such as meatloafs and new forms of baking cake. Food during this period was scarce and had to be rationed thereby, leading to substitute ingredients to make up for the change during this period of time.

Then there was the inclusion of convenience and new forms of products during the years 1945 to 1965 when people wanted new products and there was a greater emphasis on food quality which led to technology having to keep up in order to match what people wanted during that time period. Food scientists suddenly, shot up  in demand especially those dealing in nutrition.

The years 1965 to 1980 saw many changes in the demand for nutrition and food safety as people started to look for ways to understand how they would play a part in the food sector. Government agencies then tried to control food quality and content to a higher level. The White House Conference in December 1969 paved the way for good food for its people and changing the emphasis on nutrition which led to nutrition labelling, a change in standard, and a new presumption on what good food was all about.

From 1980 to the year 2000, food preference started to branch out internationally and imported food became increasingly popular as people demanded seasonal food all year around. Buying fresher forms of food became rampant and the food sector made use of new technology to create more forms of safe and fresh food. Food Science included two new concepts which were: biotechnology and nutraceuticals.

In the present day, consumer demand has changed drastically which led to various forms of new products being introduced to the market. As greater understanding between food choices and health continue to emerge, people will change their eating patterns in order to lead longer and healthier lives.

References:

1. Force, Research Report Task. "A Century of Food Science." IFT's 50th Anniversary Issue, 1989: 2-4.

2. Galt, Alex. 10 Stubborn Food Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science.

3. Voelker, Rebecaa. "FDA tries to catch up on food safety." The Journal of American Media Association. May 12, 2010. http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/303/18/1797.extract (accessed April 19, 2012).