The Milan Charter
The Milan Charter, the main legacy of the Universal Exposition held in Milan in 2015 (Expo 2015 “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”), contributed to defining the availability of healthy, sufficient, and nutritious food as a fundamental and universal human right.
Civil society, businesses, and institutions are facing a major cultural and technological challenge: ensuring fair access to natural resources, managing production processes sustainably, and reducing food waste all require a systemic approach supported by solid technical and scientific knowledge.
The complexity of these challenges can be addressed through the principles of Food Engineering.
A Master of Science
The importance of the professional profile developed through a Master of Science in Food Engineering is closely linked to the impact of the Italian agri-food supply chain. The sector includes 1.3 million companies (25% of all registered companies in Italy) and over 3.2 million employees (13% of total national employment), and generates €55 billion in production, €132 billion in processing and €115 billion in distribution each year (2017 data).
The food processing industry alone represents the second largest industrial sector in terms of contribution to national GDP, after the metalworking industry. According to ICE (2016 data), more than 60% of Italian food exports originate from Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, and Piedmont — regions geographically close to Politecnico di Milano.
Food Engineering
Food Engineering is strongly characterized by its focus on both processes and products.It is not limited to food and beverage transformation technologies but also addresses the definition of product properties and performance. The educational path is inherently multidisciplinary, integrating aspects related to chemical engineering, management engineering, mechanical engineering and energy engineering. In this sense, the Food Engineer profile complements and extends the traditional background of industrial engineering.
What does a Food Engineer do?
Food Engineers are able to analyze and manage the entire food supply chain, including production, distribution, and industrial management processes. They apply knowledge from chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering as well as regarding social sciences and regulatory frameworks.
The Master of Science in Food Engineering is therefore characterized by a strong interdisciplinary approach, addressing food transformation technologies, modeling and analysis of production systems, and environmental, economic, and social impacts of production (including agriculture) and consumption.
Typical applications of Food Engineering include:
- design and development of packaged food and beverages, from raw material processing to packaging solutions aimed at improving shelf life
- support in the design of machinery and equipment for food production and packaging
- development of technologies for food processing and sterilization
- management of quality, certification, and food safety, including microbiological aspects
- design of sustainable processes for the food industry, including product life cycle analysis and energy optimization in production and logistics