Food Science and Technology Curricula in Africa: Meeting Africa’s New Challenges

The overarching goal of this study was to create a list of the most frequently occurring academic words in Food Science and Technology (FST). To this end, a 4,652,444-word corpus called Food Science and Technology Research Articles (FSTRA), which included 1,421 research articles (RAs) randomly selected from 38 journals across five sub-disciplines in FST, was developed. Frequency and range-based criteria were used to develop Food Science and Technology Academic Word list (FSTAWL). Word families had to occur in more than 19 journals, and they had to recur at least 134 times in the whole corpus. The computer programme RANGE was used to analyse the data. The results of frequency and range-based analysis showed that 1,090 academic words met the criteria of the study and constituted FSTAWL. The results also revealed that these words accounted for 13% of the coverage in the FSTRA. FSTAWL provides food science and technology non-native English learners who need to read a large number of RAs and to publish FST RAs in the English journals with a useful list of the most frequently used academic words, helping them to strengthen their academic reading and writing proficiency. The findings echo calls for creating more discipline-specific word lists to cater for the needs of specialized learner populations, providing implications for materials producers as well as explicit teaching of academic words.

Important as Food Science and Technology (FST) may be there has been a general down trend in the number of students’ enrolment in educational institutions worldwide. Scarcity of food scientists and technologists in developing countries is a global and emerging critical problem requiring the attention of academia, industry and government in addressing global food security. One of the barriers to achieving ideal FST education is lack of motivation of high school learners (HSL), hence the need for this study to evaluate the perception and awareness of FST amongst HSL as a tool for promoting FST. Majority of the HSL from the Limpopo province gain entry into University of Venda, while others to tertiary institutions in the country and elsewhere in the world. This study, conducted between June and December 2011, covered all five districts in the province with 1539 high schools. Structured questionnaire was used to capture information from the HSL. Only 25% of learners are aware of FST as a discipline. Notwithstanding, 60.7% would want to enroll for FST at the University level. Periodic awareness activities, taking our product to the learners and also targeting teachers, will lead to better understanding of FST and invariably impact positively on HSL subscription to higher institutions. If developing continents like Africa will overcome food insecurity deliberate effort should be geared in making sure FST, as a discipline, receives the proper image and boost in enrolment. Key words: Food Science and Technology, high schools, learners, awareness, perception, food security, Limpopo province, South Africa.

<jats:p>The regulation of a profession is justified when it improves consumer protection and public health. Higher education food science and technology (FST) degrees, widely offered in many universities in Europe open to a wide range of jobs in the food sectors where the employees could cover different positions, roles and carry out diverse activities dealing with the food production and the quality and safety of the food products. This work reviews the state of the art of the FST regulated professions requiring higher education qualifications in the European countries. The research was carried out by collecting specific information on regulated professions by contacting unions, professional associations, public servant categories/professions, and by visiting national and EU websites.  The data collected for each regulated profession were: country, training/education required, date of implementation of regulation, professional training (if required), capability test (if required) and acts required by law to be signed by a regulated professional. Only professions that required a higher education diploma were included in this search. Few countries were found to have a regulated profession in FST, in particular: Food Engineering (Turkey), Food Technologist (Greece, Iceland, Italy and Slovenia), and Oenologist (Italy, Portugal and Spain). FST regulated professions in Europe are thus scarce and have a rather limited history. The Food Technologist in Italy and the Food Engineer in Turkey were found to be the only completely regulated professions found in Europe. Food and professional regulation have been evolved over the years and raised the debate on the regulation of FST professions. Academia as well as other policymakers has to further contribute to this discussion to keep high the standards for quality of education and training of the qualified workforce and professionals in the food sector.</jats:p>

The food sector is the largest employer in the European Union, yet it ranks low in innovation and few educated young people pursue food careers. Updating both the skills and the image of food science and technology professionals (FSTs) first requires understanding the current situation. This work compares the view of currently employed FSTs (3,007) with that of food science and technology (FST) employers (602) regarding skills and when and where they should be developed. European FSTs responded to a web-based survey in 2011 and 2012, and FST employers responded to an e-mail-based survey and/or attended brainstorming workshops from 2009 to 2012. Soft skills, especially those related with communication, were the best evaluated by both groups, whereas technical non-food skills were in the lowest positions. FSTs were judged qualified by their employers in some food skills (food safety and quality, product development, production), while others (engineering maintenance, consumer and nutritional sciences, environmental issues) were more poorly evaluated. In general, FSTs believe themselves to be well qualified by higher education programs, and most of them do not continue training once they are working, with the notable exception of those that achieve positions of high responsibility. However, employers appeared to disagree, recommending that education and training in soft, food and technical skills continue throughout working life. Additionally, they recommended more frequent reinforcement of soft than of food or technical skills. A competitive food sector requires FSTs of the highest quality, and understanding the view of FSTs and their employees can contribute to improved training and thus benefit the European food sector.

Historicamente o papel das universidades sempre esteve associado à formação de recursos humanos e geração de conhecimento científico e tecnológico. Contudo, a partir do século XX tais instituições ampliaram seu escopo de atuação e passaram a atuar diretamente como agentes do sistema de inovação. Assim, o objetivo deste artigo foi analisar indicadores relacionados com Produção Científica, Propriedade Intelectual e Relação Universidade–Empresa (U-E) na área Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos (CTA) da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Inicialmente realizou-se o estudo comparativo dos indicadores de Produção Científica em CTA e identificou-se as principais Universidades Brasileiras no campo da CTA. Posteriormente, avaliou-se os indicadores de Propriedade Intelectual e os indicadores relacionados com Relação Universidade-Empresa da UNICAMP. Os resultados demonstram que a UNICAMP é a universidade brasileira com maior desempenho com relação à Produção Científica em CTA, apresentou considerável aumento no número Doutores e de Grupos de Pesquisa durante a última década, e que para cada Grupo de Pesquisa em CTA da UNICAMP existe 0,95 empresa atuando em parceria. No entanto, não foram verificados consideráveis incrementos nos indicadores de Propriedade Intelectual relacionados com Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos durante o período analisado.

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed the dietary guidelines presented as the Food-based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG). The FBDG classify foods according to their origin, nature, nutrient source, food group, and processing level. Food science and technology (FST) ranks food according to its origin, perishability, nutrient source, processing, food group, and formulation. This paper aimed to compare the convergence points for food classification according to the FBDG and FST. This study was carried out in two phases. The first step was identifying the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG). For each of the FBDG, food items were grouped as fruits, vegetables, cereals, sugars, fat and oils, legumes, foods from animals, dairy products, and others. The second step aimed to identify and describe the different food classification systems. The search was performed on PubMed®, Science Direct, and Web of Science and websites of international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Codex Alimentarius. Our results show that the points of convergence between the classifications were the classification in terms of origin (animal and vegetable), nutrient sources, and food groups. However, inconsistencies were observed for the distribution of food items in each group in the 98 surveyed FBDG. As for nature, there was a convergence for in natura, minimally processed, and processed foods. However, the criteria adopted for minimally processed and processed foods described in the FBDG differ from those considered by the FST. FST also does not recognize the classification of foods concerning the level of processing.

<p>The regulation of a profession is justified when it improves consumer protection and public health. Higher education food science and technology (FST) degrees, widely offered in many universities in Europe open to a wide range of jobs in the food sectors where the employees could cover different positions, roles and carry out diverse activities dealing with the food production and the quality and safety of the food products.This work reviews the state of the art of the FST regulated professions requiring higher education qualifications in the European countries. The research was carried out by collecting specific information on regulated professions by contacting unions, professional associations, public servant categories/professions, and by visiting national and EU websites.  The data collected for each regulated profession were: country, training/education required, date of implementation of regulation, professional training (if required), capability test (if required) and acts required by law to be signed by a regulated professional. Only professions that required a higher education diploma were included in this search.Few countries were found to have a regulated profession in FST, in particular: Food Engineering (Turkey), Food Technologist (Greece, Iceland, Italy and Slovenia), and Oenologist (Italy, Portugal and Spain). FST regulated professions in Europe are thus scarce and have a rather limited history. The Food Technologist in Italy and the Food Engineer in Turkey were found to be the only completely regulated professions found in Europe. Food and professional regulation have been evolved over the years and raised the debate on the regulation of FST professions. Academia as well as other policymakers has to further contribute to this discussion to keep high the standards for quality of education and training of the qualified workforce and professionals in the food sector.</p>

Twenty-Five Years Study (1995-2019) of Food and Bioproducts Processing: An Overview of Research Trends

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the scientific production in the food science and technology (FST) field for the period 1991-2000, in Iberian-America (IA). Eight selected IA countries contributed 97.6% of the IA production and accounted for a 6.6% of the world production. The most frequent document type is journal article published in English. Retrieved records display characteristical authorship patterns and preferred subject areas. Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Portugal determine the IA pattern of sources of publication. The fifty top ranked journals, 80% of which were indexed by the SCIE, encompass two-thirds of the IA production.

ABSTRACTObserved changes in eating and drinking behaviors in economically developing countries are associated with increase of obesity and related chronic diseases. Researchers from field of public health (PH) have attributed this problem to food processing and have created new food classification systems to support their thesis. These classifications conceptually differ from processing level concepts in food science, and state to people that food processing is directly related to nutritional impact of food. Our work aims to compare the concept of food processing from the standpoint of food science and technology (FST) and public health and to discuss differences related to formulation or level of processing of products and their impact on nutritional quality. There is a misconception between food processing/unit operation/food technology and formulation or recipes. For the public health approach, classification is based on food products selection and the use of ingredients that results in higher consumption of sugar, sodium, fat, and additives, whereas in FST, processing level is based on the intensity and amount of unit operations to enhance shelf life, food safety, food quality, and availability of edible parts of raw materials. Nutritional quality of a product or preparation is associated with formulation/recipe and not with the level of processing, with few exceptions. The impact of these recommendations on the actual comprehension of food processing and quality must be considered by the population.

The complex concept of food sustainability has become crucial in all spheres of life. Dietitians, food scientists, and technologists are in a unique position to promote sustainability in food systems. However, the perceptions of food sustainability among food science professionals and college students are under-researched, particularly in Spain. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze perceptions related to food and to food sustainability in a sample of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST) students in Barcelona (Spain). An exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using qualitative and quantitative methodology and convenience sampling. Two focus groups and an online questionnaire were conducted (300 participants completed the survey, 151 from HND and 149 from FST). Although the students expressed concern about food sustainability, their dietary choices were primarily associated with or influenced by taste/pleasure and health/nutrition. The issue of sustainability seemed more internalized by women than men, whereas the generalized conception of a sustainable diet was essentially based on environmental aspects, with socioeconomic dimensions largely overlooked. The concept of sustainability should be promoted among food science students in all its multidimensionality, and actions need to be implemented that bring sustainability closer to students’ social practices, which should be incorporated into all university education and that is taught by professors duly trained in the subject.

Career path of food science and technology professionals: Entry to the world of work

Abstract: Nine food science and technology (FST) subjects were assessed for alignment between the learning outcomes and assessment using revised Bloom's taxonomy (RBT) of cognitive knowledge. Conjoint analysis was used to estimate the utilities of the levels of cognitive, knowledge, and the attribute importance (cognitive process and knowledge dimension) for learning outcomes and assessments. Lecturers for these subjects produced learning outcomes for ability of students to Understand (4.935) Procedural (3.316) as well as Apply (4.491) Conceptual (3.083) knowledge. Lecturers’ expected students’ to move beyond mere recall and recognition of knowledge to higher order cognitive knowledge of apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. However, the assessments tested students’ ability to Understand (4.791) Conceptual (4.168) as well as Remember (3.217) Procedural (0.581) knowledge resulting in a misaligned teaching and learning exercise. For all the subjects, emphasis was more (52.9% to 72.9%) on the cognitive dimension than on forms of knowledge in formulating the learning outcomes, whereas emphasis placed on the cognitive (33.3% to 62.5%) dimension and the knowledge (37.5% to 66.7%) forms in the questions differed from subject to subject. The cognitive weight in the assessment was more for Understand (1.781)/Remember (0.787) Conceptual (1.416) knowledge. RBT provides an assessment framework that can be used to assist instructors in going beyond factual knowledge and comprehension to include academic skills such as application, analysis, evaluation, and creation.

An attempt has been made to trace and compare the trends in growth of Food Science and Technology (FST) literature (periodical articles, patents, standards, theses and dissertations) produced by CFTRI scientists, by food scientists in India and by food scientsts of the world, covering a period between 1950 and 1990; to identify the best fitting growth models for actual and cumulative growth of data through regression analysis; and αt and α2t analysis; and to compute and compare the growth rates of FST documnets.

In modern industrialized societies, the focus on healthy eating has increased significantly across multiple sectors, including the media, public policy, expert opinion, and public awareness. The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions of healthy eating and the barriers to adopting a healthy diet among undergraduate students in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST) degrees in Spain. An exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a qualitative and quantitative methodology and convenience sampling. Two focus groups and a questionnaire were utilized (300 participants from all academic years completed the survey). Differences in definitions of healthy eating and perceived barriers were found between genders and students at different stages of training (p < 0.05). In their understanding of healthy eating, the students placed importance on balance, variety, moderation, and individual factors. Although students considered it easy to follow a healthy diet, family's eating habits, time availability, and emotional states were found to be the main barriers to the implementation of healthy practices. The obtained data supports the need to critically address perceptions of healthy eating throughout the training of nutrition and food science professionals. The insights obtained on the perceived barriers highlight the importance of considering both individual and environmental factors.