Food Technology overview
Food Technology is a discipline that accords with the techniques and mechanism of food production, preservation, packaging, processing, labeling, quality management, research, and distribution of food products. With the assistance of food technology, the qualitative value of food products has increased. The enhancement of food products supply has developed by some methods such as freeze-drying, high-temperature short-time processing, pasteurization, process optimization, food packaging methods, food irradiation, and many more. In this field, students will get to learn about the various techniques and processes used to transform raw food materials into edible food items. It involves an extensive research work to make a sustainable food item and ensure the quality of food products. This course provides a wide domain for employment in various sectors of food production companies.
Scope of food technology
Due to the increasing market demand for quality food products, demand for food professionals is also increasing. With the help of technological advancement, many sectors have benefitted and food technology is amongst such departments. It requires a lot of research work and ensuring the quality of food products from the stage of food processing till the stage of packaging and delivery of food products, each step is very essential in this process which requires professionals from this course. It offers a wide range of job opportunities in various departments of food technology such as
- Food research laboratories
- Food quality & Certification organizations
- Corporate Food manufacturing companies
- Food Packaging companies
- Food machinery & Instrument’s manufacturing companies
- Flavor houses
- Nutraceuticals
- Agricultural commodities export ventures
- Food wholesalers
- Food Packaging and labeling
- Food Sensory Science
- Quality Management
- Food Technology and Safety
- Chemistry of Food Proteins
- Biochemical Engineering
- Agribusiness Management
- Market Research
- Dairy Products and Technology
- Fabricated and Textured Foods department
- Health Data Analysis
- Product Evaluation
Skill Required for Food Technologist
To meet the market demand and provide quality products ensuring the safety of food, candidates should possess these skills
- One should have an interest in Food Science
- Should be able to analyze problems and make solutions accordingly
- One must have organizational and technical skills
- Knowledge of current market demand
- Scientific & Analytical skills
- Excellent observational skills
- A Scientific approach to health and nutrition
- Time Management
Core Subjects in food technology
- Food Microbiology
- Enzyme Technology
- Food Hygiene and Sanitation
- Nutrition and Health
- Food Processing
- Food Plant Layout & Design
- Unit Operations in Food Processing
- Food and Vegetable Processing Dairy
- Plant Engineering
- Fundamentals of food chemistry
- Normal therapeutic nutrition
- Fundamentals of milk processing
- Food analysis
- Food laws and quality assurance
- Concentrated and dehydrated milk products
- Fermented milk products
- Principles of fruits and vegetable technology
- Processed fruits and vegetable products
- Technology of spices and plantation products
- Packaging of fresh and processed foods
- Introduction to business laws and ethics
- Technology of dairy and seafood
- Applied Food Biotechnology
- Crop Processing Technology
- Meat and Poultry Processing Technology
- Food Additives
- Confectionary Technology
- Packaging Technology
- Product Design & Development
- Bakery and confectionery products
- Technology of pulses and oilseeds
- Beverage processing technology
Job Profiles in Food Technology
- Lab technician
- Research scientist
- Biochemist
- Engineer
- Quality controller/ food inspector
- Managers and accountants
- Home economist
- Food product development director
- Organic chemist
- Food technologist: Production/Operation/ QA/QC
- R&D: New Product & Process Development
- Marketing & Sales, Business Development & Marketing analysis
- Procurement & Supply chain management
Eligibility Criteria and Course Duration
| Course | Eligibility | Duration |
| Diploma courses in food technology Diploma in Food and Nutrition Certificate in Food and NutritionGraduate Diploma in Food ScienceGraduate Certificate in Food Science | 10+2 with physics, chemistry, and biology in the science stream. | 2 years |
| Bachelor’s courses in food technology B.Sc. in Food TechnologyB.Sc. in Food Processing TechnologyB.Sc. in Food Science and Quality ControlB.Sc. in Food ScienceB.Sc. (Hons.) in Food TechnologyB.Sc. (Hons.) in Food Science and TechnologyB.E. in Food TechnologyB.E. in Food Technology and Bio-Chemical EngineeringBTech. Food TechnologyBTech. in Food Science | For B.Tech. and engineering background: 10+2 with physics, chemistry, and maths in science stream. For B.Sc.: passed 10+2 with physics, chemistry, biology/home science, and mathematics as main subjects in science stream. | 3 years |
| Master’s courses in food technology M.Sc. Food TechnologyM.Sc. in Food Science and TechnologyM.Sc. in Microbial and Food TechnologyMTech. in Food TechnologyMTech. in Food Engineering and TechnologyMTech. in Food Processing TechnologyMTech. in Food and NutritionMTech. in Food BiotechnologyM.E. in Food TechnologyM.E. in Processing and Food EngineeringM.A. in Food NutritionPG Diploma in Food Analysis and Quality Control | Bachelor’s degree in any relevant field of food technology with minimum 50% marks in graduation. | 2 years |
| Ph.D. in Food Technology Ph.D. in Food BiotechnologyPh.D. in Food Engineering and TechnologyPh.D. in Agriculture and Food SecurityPh.D. in Food and Diary TechnologyPh.D. in Food Science and Technology | Postgraduation in a relevant field of food science and appear for entrance exams like UGC NET, CSIR-UGC-NET, etc. | 2 years |
Salary Outlook
Salary range depends upon the qualification in food science. On graduation or entry-level, one can earn an estimated amount of 20,000-30,000 INR per month. As the qualification and experience increase, the pay scale also increases. On the basis of working ability and organizational skills, one can easily earn up to 80,000-1 lac per month in India. There is also a great demand for food technologists in overseas countries where salary ranges between $30,000 – $60,000 from entry-level to higher positions.
Top Recruiters in Food Technology
- The Food Corporation of India (FCI)
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
- Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Food Processing Industries
- Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
- Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
- NABARD, NAFED, MAFED, BARC
- State & Central Food Laboratories
- State Govt: Food Safety Officer/Food Inspector
- Council Of Scientific and Industrial Research–Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR–CFTRI)
- Defense Food Research Laboratory (DFRL)
- National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM)
- Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)
Top Food Technology Colleges of India
- Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
- National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
- Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar
- Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi
- Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
- Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad
- GITAM Institute of Science, Vishakhapatnam
- Guru Nanak Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
- College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Chennai
- Amity University, Jaipur
- NIFTEM – National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Sonipat
- Chandigarh University, Chandigarh
- Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai
- SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai
- Jadavpur University, Kolkata
- Institute Of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
Best Food Technology Colleges of the World
- Jiangnan University, China
- University of Wageningen, Netherlands
- China Agricultural University, China
- South China University of Technology, China
- University of Campinas, Brazil
- Zhejiang University, China
- University of Sao Paulo Brazil
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States
- University of Porto, Portugal
- University of California, Davis, United States
- KU Leuven, Belgium
- University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- University College Dublin, Ireland
- University of Guelph, Canada
- Cornell University, United States
- University of Bologna, Italy
- King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
- The University of Queensland, Australia
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – New Brunswick, United States
- University of Parma, Italy
- Technical University Munich, Germany
- Michigan State University, United States
- Aarhus University, Denmark