Food is such a familiar “material” to all of us that it is easy to overlook the science input required at all stages in its manufacture, from production to consumption. Nevertheless, as the articles in this special issue of MRS Bulletin seek to prove, the materials-science approach is every bit as valid—and as useful—for food as it is for any more conventional system studied in our field. The familiar linkage of structure–property–processing serves equally well in the case of a chocolate bar as a steel bar.

Starch is a versatile food ingredient and is widely used in numerous food and industrial applications. Whether in its native form, or modified1 through chemical substitution and/or physical modification (e.g., annealing), starch is used as a texturizer, gelling agent, thickener, adhesive, and moisture-retainer. Starches also provide an essential carbohydrate energy source and are obtained from roots, rootlike or tuberous plants, and cereals, all of which possess unique starch chemistries that impact their properties and function as food ingredients.

Chocolate is a common confectionery material throughout the world that has seen generally increasing production trends over the last 10 years. Making chocolate requires an understanding of how the consumer perceives it. The preferred type of chocolate varies from country to country; for example, common U.S. and U.K. chocolate tastes are mutually incomprehensible, while the rest of Europe hates both of them! The different tastes and uses for chocolate reflect the histories of the industry in different places.

Many food-processing operations are designed to create the microstructure that gives the food product its characteristic properties. From milk we can produce different cheeses, yogurts, spreads, or whipped products where the properties are determined by the structure. Other examples of fabricated foods are cereal products such as pasta, meat products such as sausages, and so on. All of these products are based on colloidal structures such as gels, emulsions, foams, or combinations thereof. Microscopy provides the tools for describing how a particular structure is engineered, and, therefore, how it relates to the properties of the product.

Most of the process of eating is a learned skill. While an infant readily puts most things in its mouth, the ability to distinguish food from any other material has to be taught, and even then it is several years before the whole range of foods can be consumed efficiently. Yet by the time we are 5–10 years old, our mastery of the complex set of mechanical actions involving tongue, teeth, and swallowing is so complete that we do not consciously note what we are doing or how we do it.

The safety of today' novel foods and food materials, especially those produced by means of genetic modification, has been in the news in recent times. However, the major safety problems in the food chain come from much more long-standing causes. The principal risk remains the health threat from pathogenic bacteria. Other risks include the food chain as a vector for certain serious viral infections such as hepatitis A. Food as a source of significant(and, in extremis, fatal) allergenic reactions is also a growing concern. Another significant food-safety problem is the contamination of food by potentially harmful foreign substances (pesticides, plasticizers, heavy metals, fungal micotoxins, etc.)