Food Engineering Education in Mexico, Central America, and South America

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The teaching of food engineering (FE) in Mexico and Central and South America began more than 50 years ago, initially with programs related to Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. The first programs clearly denominated as FE emerged during late 1960s and early 1970s; the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) and United Nations (UN) in some cases and the Science and Technology for Development Program (CYTED), launched in the early 1980s, stimulated and strengthened the development of FE. Relevant developments on FE in Latin‐America can be traced down to topics such as: evaluation of physicochemical and transport properties, water activity, high and intermediate moisture foods, food drying, modeling and simulation of processes, hurdle technology, minimal processing, and emerging technologies. At present, FE Education in Latin‐America interacts and coexists with the new paradigms related to the design of preservation processes and the development of Biotechnology.