Food science and human nutrition are a prerequisite for a healthy society. Food science deals with preservation, selection, distribution and processing of food which is nutritious, wholesome and safe. It also refers to the manner in which raw materials are transformed into food for consumption by humans and animals. Food technologists study the chemical and microbiological structure of food. Furthermore food technologists invent methods by which they can process, preserve, package and store food according to the industrial specifications and other regulations.

The Human nutrition course will tell us exactly how much of the food we take is nutritious. And also, how to increase the quality of food and how to calculate the nutrition value of food .It also throws light on what are the steps being taken by the government, to improve the nutrition value of food which the common man takes.

A food technologist ensures that the processes are performed as specified. There are other career opportunities for those in areas like marketing, packaging and process design.

Some of the specialized food science fields are:

• Food microbiology: It deals with interactions between microorganisms and food.
• Food preservation: It deals with prevention of degradation of food
• Food safety: It deals with prevention of diseases, caused due to food borne illness
• Food Technology: Mainly dealing with the technological aspects of food
• Food physics: It deals mainly with physical aspects of food such as viscosity and creaminess
• Food packaging: It deals with how packaging is done after food is processed.
• Molecular gastronomy: It deals with the scientific processes involved in cooking

Educational qualifications: For B.Sc. in Food technology, one must have passed 10+2 examination, with Physics, Chemistry and Biology. For M.Sc. in food technology, the minimum eligibility requirement is a B.Sc degree course in home science. There are also short –term certificate and diploma courses offered by various institutes and polytechnics. The ministry of Food and Civil supplies has several extension centers which provide short term courses and trainings in rice milling, oil seed processing and preparation of bakery products. Many post graduate courses are also available in home science, nutrition, food technology and biotechnology in various universities.

Some of the universities offering food science courses are:

• MS University, Gujarat
• IGNOU
• Fruit Technology Institute, Lucknow
• National Sugar Institute, Kanpur
• Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Himachal Pradesh

We also see that the rise in consumerism in societies of both developed and developing world has contributed to the increase in special methods of food processing techniques. For example spray drying, freeze drying and the use of artificial sweeteners. So, we can conclude that Food science and Human nutrition courses are necessary for the development of a healthy society.