ABSTRACT
Food technology is the application of food science to the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, and use of safe food. Be it preservation, palatability, digestibility, appearance, packagability, transportability, individual and regional idiosyncrasies, nutritive content, cooking characteristics, health and safety aspects, and so on, food technology has evolved from invention of simple kitchen machines such as the dishwasher, refrigerator, blender, into probably the largest and most complex of all techno-scientific disciplines underscoring the fact that food is most vital to life and our very existence. ¢e current scenario is that there is a steady depletion of the agricultural resources for augmentation of food for society, which necessitates investment of more efforts on production of processed foods that have more value, higher shelf life, and above all safe and free from adulterants. ¢is can be quite a challenging task and makes food technology a very special subject in terms of research, academic, and industrial aspects. In this chapter, the various principles of food technologies employed in food processing industries are outlined comprehensively as an instant reference toward familiarization and understanding of those processes that result in generation of by-products and wastes and to complement the scope of valorization of food processing by-products generated during the production/ manufacturing process employing biological processes presented in other chapters that discuss specific food processing industries.
