 Noel
Anderson
Division Research Director
Post Division
Kraft Foods
Rye Brook, NY
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 B.S. - Food Science and Nutrition, University of Massachusetts
M.S. - Food Science and Nutrition, University of Massachusetts
Ph.D. - Food Science and Nutrition, University of Massachusetts |
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Division Research Director, Post Division |
Noel Anderson,
associate research director at Kraft General Foods, points out that few
people recognize the science that is behind the food products they
consume. While food science involves the application of chemistry,
biology, physics, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition, and engineering
to the development and distribution of food, Anderson points out that the
major portion of a food science curriculum is chemistry.
If you were asked to make a pudding-type dessert that would be sold out of
the refrigerator section of the supermarket, what would you put in it?
asks Anderson. "First," he says, "you begin with milk which provides the
liquid and the protein for the system. Then, you add starch to thicken the
formulation. Why does starch thicken?" he asks.
Anderson explains that as starch expands, it traps liquids that help
create the pudding texture. But after two or three days, the expanded
starch molecules start coming back together. As they come back together,
the starch leaks water, which, for a consumer product, is undesirable.
"Consequently," he says, "we work with chemically modified starches to
prevent this from happening."
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