The increasing global demand for processed foods has led to a greater prominence of the food industry, its specific needs and processing challenges. Consequently, in recent times the role of the engineer in the food industry has gained considerable prominence. In contrast to other more traditional processing industries, the raw materials or ingredients that are used tend to be of greater complexity in nature. While processing conditions are also more moderate in that temperatures even in hottest ovens may not exceed 200 o C and pressures rarely exceed one or two bar, the materials themselves are highly complex in composition, textural and.
