Bromatology: What We Do and What We are About

Abstract

Bromatology plays an important role in the entire food complex and associated systems. This field has become increasingly sophisticated and the associated responsibilities have diversified. The present review aimed to provide a summary for bromatology into four main subfields: food product development, food physiology, food engineering and food security. Bromatology involves food product development of conventional products, animal foods, nutraceuticals, specialized diets, food additives and food packaging material. The physiological impact of foods is critical and can relate to aspects of nutrition, food toxicology, microbiology and psychology. Food engineering incorporates diverse areas including industrial scale food production, effects of food processing, management of food waste, genetic modification and agriculture. Food security refers to topics surrounding food safety, food forensics and food defense. This summary stimulates bromatology professionals to ponder the bigger picture of our field and encourages interactions with bromatology professionals working in different areas of bromatology. Only through interactions and co-operations are we able to efficiently and continuously tackle the intricacies of the food complex and associated systems, to feed the world today and the days to come. It also demonstrates the values and identity of bromatology to others that are not working within the field.