Dr. I. Heertje, a renowned food structure reseacher and the former European Editor of Food Structure has contributed the following reasons for food structure studies (Scheme 1 in Heertje I. 1998. Fat crystals, emulsifiers and liquid crystals. From structure to functionality. Polish J. Food Nutr. Sci. 7/48, 7-18 (S):
"A proper understanding of the behaviour of food products requires knowledge of its structure, i.e. the spatial arrangement of the various structural elements, such as droplets, air-cells, crystals, strands and micelles. This structure, on the one hand, finds its origin in the molecular properties of the offered ingredients and on the other hand gives rise to the macroscopic behaviour- the function- of the final product. The central position of structure in the relation between molecular properties of ingredients and macroscopic behaviour is illustrated in the scheme shown below":
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The results of structural studies have been published in many food science journals such as Carbohydrate Polymers, Cereal Chemistry, Colloid and Polymer Science, Fleischwirtschaft, Food Hydrocolloids, Food Technology, Journal of Cereal Science, International Dairy Journal, Journal of Dairy Research, Journal of Dairy Science, Journal of Food Science, Journal of Texture Studies, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Journal of Ultrastructure Research, Lipids, LWT - Food Science and Technology, Meat Science, Milchwissenschaft, Starch/Stärke, etc.