Introduction to Food Engineering

At the end of this course, the students should be able to: 1. identify the differences between Food Engineering, Food Science, Food Technology and Agricultural Engineering; 2. demonstrate understanding of the inter-phases of agriculture, food and nutrition; 3. demonstrate appreciation of global food situation and food security challenges especially in developing countries; 4. identify the place of Food Engineers in the Nigerian food industries and national development; 5. define/describe terms commonly used in food engineering; 6. identify the role of mathematics in solving food engineering problems. 7. use the knowledge of the course to solve simple mass and energy balances adopting relevant engineering units and dimensions.

Review of various engineering disciplines leading to evolution of Food Engineering, Philosophy, definition and interrelationship of Food Science, Technology and Engineering. Interphases of agriculture, food and nutrition, as disciplines of academic study and as profession. Review of global food situation with emphasis on Nigeria and Africa. Food Process engineering, security issues in developing countries. The Nigerian food industries and Engineering. The food engineer as a problem solver: roles of Food Engineers in National Development. Description/definition of the following: Process. Food process engineering. Flow charts and descriptions of some processes. Steady and unsteady state. Batch, continuous and semi- continuous operations. Unit operations and classifications. Mathematics involved in food engineering problems. Engineering Unit and dimensions, mass and energy balances. Introduction to dimensional analysis and similarity theorem. 200 Level