Materials Science and Engineering in Food Product Development - by Wing-Fu Lai (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Food materials science is a discipline focusing on the development, characterization, processing and engineering of materials used in food. Although it has practical significance in food industry, it is an emerging area in the larger field of food science and little scholarly works are available in this field. Among those available works, most of them only focus on the characterization and properties of food materials per se. Efforts paid to explore how related advances can be translated into the development and improvement of a functional food product are almost absent. The objective of this book is to fill this gap by exploring and illustrating the roles played by materials science and engineering in the process of food production, particularly food microencapsulation and food packaging. This book consists of four sections. Section I presents major concepts related to materials properties in food science. An overview of different types of materials used in food applications will be provided. Concepts of bulk rheology and interfacial rheology in food emulsions will also be presented. This section lays a theoretical foundation for subsequent sections in this book. In Section II, detailed discussions about the design and use of lipid-based and polymer-based materials in enrichment and protection of food components will be provided. Apart from chemical means, various engineering techniques (including 3D printing and electrospinning) can be applied to manipulate the properties of food materials or those used for food microencapsulation. Some of the major engineering techniques relevant to the process of food production will be discussed in Section III. The last section of this book will focus mainly on the design, characterization and use of materials for food packaging. Various determinants of the quality and safety of food packaging, as well as concepts for the design of food packages, will be covered"--

Book Synopsis

Materials Science and Engineering in Food Product Development

A comprehensive and accessible guide to the food development applications of cutting-edge materials science

In Materials Science and Engineering in Food Product Development, distinguished researcher Wing-Fu Lai delivers an authoritative exploration of the roles played by materials science and engineering in food product development. In the book, the authors employ a practical, industrial perspective to illustrate how food products, especially functional foods, can benefit from the incorporation of materials science technologies.

The book includes helpful glossary sections in each chapter, as well as important notes to highlight information useful to food manufacturers engaged in the real-world development and manufacture of foods. This book is appropriate for both early and advanced researchers interested in the design, improvement, and engineering of food products using the most current advances in food materials science.

Readers will also find:

• A thorough overview of the most critical advances in food materials science
• Comprehensive explorations of a materials science approach to food product design and discussions of techniques for the characterization of food materials and products
• Practical discussions of the design and use of hydrogels, polymers, and lipid-based systems for food component encapsulation
• Comprehensive treatments of the optimization of pasting and textural properties of food products by rheological manipulation

Perfect for students, researchers, and scholars in the fields of nutritional science, materials engineering, food science, food engineering, and nanotechnology, Materials Science and Engineering in Food Product Development will also benefit food manufacturing professionals during food product development.

From the Back Cover

A comprehensive and accessible guide to the food development applications of cutting-edge materials science

In Materials Science and Engineering in Food Product Development, distinguished researcher Wing-Fu Lai delivers an authoritative exploration of the roles played by materials science and engineering in food product development. In the book, the authors employ a practical, industrial perspective to illustrate how food products, especially functional foods, can benefit from the incorporation of materials science technologies.

The book includes helpful glossary sections in each chapter, as well as important notes to highlight information useful to food manufacturers engaged in the real-world development and manufacture of foods. This book is appropriate for both early and advanced researchers interested in the design, improvement, and engineering of food products using the most current advances in food materials science.

Readers will also find:

• A thorough overview of the most critical advances in food materials science
• Comprehensive explorations of a materials science approach to food product design and discussions of techniques for the characterization of food materials and products
• Practical discussions of the design and use of hydrogels, polymers, and lipid-based systems for food component encapsulation
• Comprehensive treatments of the optimization of pasting and textural properties of food products by rheological manipulation

Perfect for students, researchers, and scholars in the fields of nutritional science, materials engineering, food science, food engineering, and nanotechnology, Materials Science and Engineering in Food Product Development will also benefit food manufacturing professionals during food product development.

About the Author

About the Editor

Wing-Fu Lai received his MSc degree in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology from the City University of Hong Kong, and earned his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Hong Kong. He has been accredited as Shenzhen Municipal "Overseas High-caliber Personnel". Professionally, he is a Registered Nutritionist in the UK, and a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. He has also received his Certified Food Scientist credential from the International Food Science Certification Commission in the US. His research focus lies in the development and engineering of polymeric materials for food and pharmaceutical applications.