Food
science is highly underutilized as a means to alleviate food insecurity in
developing countries. An emerging discipline called Food Science for Relief and
Development (FSRD) seeks to expand the use of food science and technology to
address this problem. Food science can extend shelf life and preserve foods,
reduce postharvest food loss and waste, increase food safety, add value/improve
profits, provide jobs, and help develop economies. While the principles of food
chemistry, food engineering, and nutrition are the same regardless of the
context, the implementation of food science is very different in low vs. high
income countries. Thus, there is a need for specialized curricula and training
to develop expertise for effective implementation. This session will explore the
field of applied food science for food insecurity, the challenges of
implementation in developing countries, and present examples of programs that
prepare students to solve the problem of global hunger.