Food Lecture-Food Tech Ind

Food Science Lecture (instead of Emory lecture)

David R. Lineback is a food scientist at the U of Maryland. He also works at the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) at the University of Maryland at College Park. His research interests are carbohydrate chemistry, and education of future teachers.

He gave a good overview of how food science has changed over the years, and how what it is today. I included some of the major issues he raised.

He mentioned that there was a huge difference in where we were in food safety just 10 or 15 years ago, and where we are now. He kept making a distinction between developing and developed nation because the job of a food scientist is vastly different in those two types of nations. The situation we live in an affluent nation that worries of specifically of food while much of the world is just worried about getting food. In our developed nation people what safe food that visually pleasing and appealing to the palate. He then discussed how food supply chains extends across the world, but just a few decades ago, this supply was within a few 100 miles.

Personally, I liked the lecture. Dr. Lineback did a great job going over many topics in a brief period of time. He broke down the basics of food science so that the laymen could understand what he was talking about. He didn’t cover any one topic in great detail, but this lecture was a great introduction for someone, like me, who had no idea what food science is about. I left with an appreciation what those scientists do and their importance to mankind.