About This Special Issue
Process engineering focuses on the design, operation, control, and optimization of chemical, physical, and biological processes. Process engineering encompasses a vast range of industries, such as chemical, petrochemical, mineral processing, advanced material, food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological industries. Food Engineering also includes drying of fruit and vegetables, extrusion process, Food Rheology, waste water treatment and using nano technology in packaging.
Food packaging is an important part of food processing operations and food preservation. "Packaging" ensures safe product delivery to the ultimate consumer in a sound condition and at a minimum cost. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, many important developments in both materials and packaging systems led to the reduction of packaging costs and the development of novel and minimally processed foods. Packaging serves a number of different functions including preservation, containment, and convenience. Preservation is one of its major roles: packaging protects the contents against environmental, physical, and mechanical hazards (oxygen, water/moisture, light, contamination from microorganisms, rodents, and insects, physical damage, chemical attack, etc.) during storage and distribution.