Improve products by optimizing your understanding of their structure.

A food's microstructure emanates either from nature or from the processing environment it has experienced. Practically all of a food's relevant properties are sensitive to its structure. Transforming a product's structure is key to the processing industry. Product development or optimization efforts are often based on creating matrices in which nutrients and other components are conveyed in textures and forms that are appealing.

Unfortunately, although a product's microstructure may be important to understanding the impact of processing on a food, food engineers often ignore it. According to scientists at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (College of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Bioprocessing Engineering, PO Box 306, Santiago, Chile), companies have placed a lot of emphasis on designing safe and reliable processes for making large volumes of traditional foods. Innovation and quality haven't always been the major driving forces in the food market.

Many engineers are in a position to better their knowledge about the underlying science that links structure to a product's properties. In addition, in the past techniques that could be used in studying microstructure had not been developed to the point at which they could yield useful information. Structure-property relationships indicate that there is a causal connection between structure, the manner in which a product behaves and its engineering properties. Structure influences transport phenomena, rheology, mechanical and other properties of a food.

To better understand product properties and achieve advances in processing, scientists must take into consideration the basic building elements and the cell. The variety of microscopy, visualization and analysis techniques that are available will make such an effort possible. In addition, it is necessary to understand how products are formed, transformed and broken down in the mouth. It will be possible to undertake such an effort by borrowing tools and techniques from the biological and materials sciences.

Applying physical and classical principles of chemical engineering, as well as empiricism, have been considered sufficient to explain phenomena in food processing at the macrolevel. However, this approach has made a limited contribution to the fundamental principles of food engineering.

Further information. Jose Miguel Aguilera; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; URL: www.puc.cl.