Overview

Food and beverage technology

The availability of high quality and safe food and drink is vital to society. However, food must also meet specific needs (such as baby food or diabetic foods) and individual consumer expectations.

The study field at a glance

In the future, the quality requirements will reach new dimensions, especially in terms of health, prevention and functionality. It is therefore important to consider food as a whole – from the biogenesis of the ingredients to nutritional physiology – in order to gently design and develop the processing technology in a substance-specific manner.

Offered courses

Some colleges offer food technology or food processing technology and food technology within process engineering or biotechnology or chemical engineering. Accordingly, the focus is more on the natural science and engineering fundamentals and less on the imparting of food-specific substance knowledge. Moreover, depending on the university, study contents of the pharmaceutical technology and the technology of cosmetics and detergents are taught.

At universities of applied sciences, independent study programs are offered throughout. A specialization in the food industry, dairy industry, livestock and meat or wine industry are possible within the study field of agricultural sciences.

The sub-field of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is offered as a focus in the study of food technology and as an independent degree course in brewing and beverage technology.

Contents of the course

The programs in this field combine basic scientific knowledge (mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology) with food-specific, nutritional, technical, ecological and business knowledge. In addition, engineering subjects such as process and packaging technology, mechanical and apparatus engineering, process automation and biotechnology are taught, as well as physical, chemical, microbiological and modern molecular biological analysis methods for quality control. In addition, topics such as hygiene, food law, plant science or preservation technology are plan of the course.

Admission criteria & course application

Depending on the type of university, pre-practical training in study-related areas may be required.

Possible careers after graduation

The graduates are in demand in Germany and abroad in the food and life science industry. They are primarily involved in food production / processing, the supply industry and research. With increasing professional practice, they often take on leadership roles in development, planning, production, quality control and marketing. For authorities, they are active in e.g. food inspection or trade supervision. There are also employment opportunities in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, the chemical industry, biotechnology and environmental technology. Testing and consulting facilities also offer freelance job opportunities.