How should the academic training of food engineers be? // Personal perception

The development of the food industry worldwide is influenced in many factors everything related to the production of food, this demand in the processing of food also influences the need to prepare new professionals In this area of ​​engineering, for this new academic programs related to these sectors arise, since the production and conservation of food in the most important machinery in the economy of a country.

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Therefore, the training of new professionals is a process that must occur with great speed and incorporate food engineers to the food processing industries without neglecting the important contribution of professionals in charge of agricultural production, since without them Food bases will not reach the industries, and therefore there would be no possibility of their processing and subsequent distribution.

As a student of the 8th semester of food engineering, I will describe what the academic profile should look like in what has been my experiences in this training at the Experimental University South of Lake (UNESUR), for this I describe some of the areas in that I have worked during this time of my professional training:

• Students who aspire to be food engineers must know the causes that lead to changes in national and global economies, since the globalization of markets is where we will have the perception of where our sense of production should focus. foods.

• The primary purpose of these professional profiles, such as the agricultural engineer and the food engineer, is to guarantee the food security and sovereignty of the planet and its nations. In Venezuela, where I live and study food engineering, I have observed how large sectors of the population, especially vulnerable groups, have high nutritional deficiencies due to insufficient food consumption, such as child malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. It is for this reason the need to increase the production of high quality food, it is our responsibility, and in this way we must assume it, so that with our knowledge we achieve the necessary contribution within the industries to raise the productive capacity of food of high nutritional quality , and in this way we can combat the nutritional deficiencies of our populations.

• The safety and preservation of food is taking on greater importance every day, this importance is linked to the fact that more and more people die of cholera on our planet, because the protection of the health of the population is a factor critical. Therefore it is necessary to implement systems of good manufacturing practices, quality, detection of microorganisms and the means to eliminate and control these harmful agents in the processes of food manufacturing. The curriculum of the food engineering program includes several curricular units that have prepared me to develop a high degree of awareness of the importance of health at the time of food processing at industrial levels, this same health awareness is necessary to develop it for all future colleagues with the intention of decreasing the risks due to diseases derived from poor sanitary controls and hygiene in general on food processing at an industrial level.

• The way in which we can investigate and investigate the different ways to increase food productivity, leads us to the fact that we can use various forms of technology, among which are the use of biotechnology, all this use of biotechnology should to be accompanied by the ability to study and evaluate food products of high biological and nutritional quality.

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The academic formation among many of many factors depends on the way we perceive the professional profile and the conceptual form of the food engineer, that is why I make this way of conceptualizing food engineering:

By Food Engineering I understand the academic discipline that trains professionals to apply all the scientific and engineering principles, in which all forms of transformation, conservation and integral use of raw materials can be developed and applied. food under quality parameters, from primary harvests, transport and subsequent processing to end consumers, taking into account the values ​​of sustainability and preservation of our natural resources.

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This concept has to contemplate a curricular mesh that contributes the quantity and necessary quality of the curricular units that fulfill the requirement of the aforementioned aspects.

In my experience as a university student, I want to share with the Steeminian community the curriculum of the training program: Food Engineering at the experimental university south of the lake (UNESUR):

To conclude this reflection it is important that we take into account the academic, ethical and moral preparation with which our universities teach us to produce the necessary food in our populations, always going beyond a simple professional profile, that is, giving it a preponderant importance to food engineers in the future of society.