School of Food Science and Technology traces originated from the Bachelor Program of Agricultural Products Storage and Processing established in 1986. It was officially founded as a school in 1996. The school has 80 faculty members, with 98% of the teachers holding doctoral degrees and 72.4% of them holding senior professional titles. There are 18 doctoral supervisors and 61 master’s supervisors. In the faculty team, Professor Shan Yang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, serves as the leader of the discipline of food science and engineering. The school boasts a team of experts and scholars in various fields, including 1 post scientist of the National Modern Agricultural Industrial Technology System, 1 member of the National Teaching Steering Committee for Food Science and Technology under the Ministry of Education, 5 post experts of Hunan Modern Agricultural Industrial Technology System. Additionally, the school has editorial board members for various journals. The school has teaching and research equipment worth more than 30 million Yuan, and covers an area of 12,000 square meters. It has over 30 off-campus internship bases, including 4 provincial outstanding internship bases and 4 provincial postgraduate innovation bases.

The school has a total enrollment of 299 full-time master’s students, 75 part-time master’s students, 17 doctoral students, and 1,413 full-time undergraduate students.

The school has established academic cooperation relationships with more than 10 countries and regions, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Thailand and others. Every year, outstanding undergraduate and master’s students are selected to study abroad, while the school also welcomes foreign students to study at the school.

Discipline and Degree

The Food Science and Technology is a national first-class construction discipline and also a national distinctive program. The discipline Food Science and Engineering is a key discipline in Hunan Province, while Public Health and Preventive Medicine is a key discipline at the university level.

Doctoral Program

Post-harvest Science and Technology of Horticultural Products

This discipline has 8 doctoral supervisors and is based on the key discipline of Food Science and Technology and Horticulture disciplines in Hunan Province, both of which are key disciplines in Hunan Province and has 10 national and provincial science and technology platforms. The research directions include functional component chemistry of horticultural products, processing theory and technology, postharvest physiology and storage engineering, and food safety studies.

Animal Products Processing and Nutrition Engineering

This discipline has 4 doctoral supervisors and is backed by experts in pig, herbivore, livestock and poultry processing within the industrial technology system of Hunan Province. All supervisors have overseas study experience or have spent more than a year conducting international visits. The discipline has developed three research directions: theory and technology of animal products processing, quality and safety of animal products, and animal products nutrition engineering.

Master Program

Food Science and Engineering has been authorized as first-category discipline for master program in 2006. Over the past five years, more than 100 master’s students have been admitted, nearly 100 students have been graduated and over 60 students are studying.

Public Health and Preventive Medicine has been authorized as first-category discipline for master program in 2011. It has 15 in-service tutors, including 11 professors, all of whom hold doctoral degrees.

Food Safety and Processing has been authorized as professional master program in 2011. The discipline has 47 tutors, including 18 professors and 19 associate professors. There are seven national and provincial research platforms related to this field.

Biology and Medicine has been authorized as professional master program in 2009. It has 9 tutors, including 6 professors and 3 associate professors. There are 5 main research directions: theory and application of food processing, technology and new techniques of food processing, food quality and safety control, food biotechnology, and food nutrition and functional factors.

Bachelor Programs

Food Science and Engineering is a key undergraduate program in Hunan Province and a national distinctive program. It originated from the agricultural products storage and processing program established in 1986. The school’s Sino-foreign cooperative education program, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the University of British Columbia in Canada, is one of the earliest programs in Hunan Province.

Food Quality and Safety: Established in 2003, the program is based on life science and food science, with the focuses on studying the relationship between food nutrition, safety, and human health, as well as ensuring food nutrition and managing food safety and hygiene quality.

Brewery Engineering: Officially approved and established in 2021, Brewery Engineering is based on the principles of chemistry, biology, and engineering. It relies on platforms such as the Hunan Fermented Food Engineering Technology Center to conduct research in various areas, including brewing raw materials, brewing microorganisms, brewing technology, engineering design, and quality control.

The school has 2 national research platforms, namely the National Plants Functional Component Utilization Engineering Technology Center, and the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Comprehensive Utilization of Citrus Resources. Additionally, the school has the National Vegetable Processing Technology R&D Sub-center, National Channel Catfish Processing Technology R&D Sub-center, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Food Science and Biotechnology, Hunan Fermented Food Engineering Technology Center, Hunan Rapeseed Oil Nutrition Health and Deep Development Engineering Technology Research Center, Hunan Province Modern Food Engineering Technology and Equipment Innovation Center, Hunan Provincial Meat Engineering Technology Research Center, and the Chili Deep Processing Technology Research Center. The school also has teaching platforms such as the Hunan Province Food Science and Technology Practice Teaching Demonstration Center, the co-constructed Provincial and Ministerial Key Discipline Laboratory for Food Science and Engineering, and the Ministry of Education’s Training Center for Agricultural Products Storage and Processing.

Scientific Research

The school conducts research on the deep processing of local agricultural products and has gained national recognition in the fields of edible oils, rice, live pigs, freshwater fish, and chili processing. Over the years, the school has undertaken more than 30 research projects funded by programs such as the National 973, 863, and Natural Science Foundation, with an average annual research fund of nearly 10 million Yuan. The school has been honored with 2 second-class national science and technology progress awards, 15 provincial-level science and technology awards, and nearly 100 authorized national invention patents. It has also formulated 2 national food standards. The school has published over 50 monographs and teaching materials, as well as nearly 1,000 academic papers.

Social Services

The school actively adapts to the needs of social development by dispatching technical experts, establishing scientific and technological food, constructing teaching and research bases, and facilitating technology transfer. Through these means, it contributes to promoting local economic development, ensuring food safety, and serving the construction of new rural areas. Based on the research technologies from the school, several influential scientific and technological school-run food enterprises have been established. The school also collaborates with over 100 companies from both within and outside the province in academic, research, and production partnerships. This collaboration has facilitated the industrialization and commercialization of more than 10 locally distinctive food products, contributing to economic benefits of nearly 15 billion Yuan for these enterprises.