The Department of Food Process Engineering was started as the Department of Agricultural Processing in 1974 as one of divisions of the then College of Agricultural Engineering, TNAU, Coimbatore. This department is primarily involved in the development of technologies and equipment in the field of Agricultural and Food Engineering and disseminating the technologies to the farmers, industries, and other stake holders. It is achieved through the mandate of the Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute viz., teaching, research and extension activities as follows:

• Offering quality education and promoting research in the field of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering

• Developing manpower in the field of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering under the broad based agricultural education scenario
• To conduct basic and applied research towards the reduction of post harvest losses, both in durable and perishable crops
• Developing technologies for value addition and preservation of farm produces during glut, the utilization of the farm wastes and residues
• Developing gadgets and improved equipment to reduce drudgery to the farm workers and improve the efficiency of the traditional gadgets

This department offers courses on Agricultural and Food Process Engineering to the undergraduate programmes of Food Process Engineering, Agriculture, Horticulture and Agri Biotechnology.

For the B.Tech. Food Technology Programme, majority of the courses are offered by this department. The course is structured to impart knowledge to students in the latest innovative technologies in the field of food process engineering, like food preservation, handling of perishables, value-addition of agricultural and horticultural commodities, packaging technology, dairy, meat, poultry and fish processing technologies. Totally 22 UG courses are being offered by this department.

In this department, the postgraduate programmes in Agricultural Process Engineering, namely M.E.(Ag.,) and Ph.D. were started in 1984 and in 1992 respectively.

In response to the growing demands of man power from the Research and Development institutions of the Indian food processing sector as well as higher education sector and Government research institutes, postgraduate degree programmes of M.Tech. and Ph.D (Processing and Food Engineering)  were started in the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore.

The course was designed and structured mainly to produce highly competent professionals in food engineering. The Postgraduate scholars are trained in all the latest food processing technologies such as preservation and handling of food, value-addition of agricultural and horticultural commodities, design of food processing equipment, packaging technology, dairy, meat, poultry and fish processing technologies, etc., They are also equipped in all the latest instrumentation and mathematical skills so that they can plan and conduct independent research in the field of food process engineering. Totally 17 courses are being offered by this department. So far 172 M.Tech. and 60 Ph.D. scholars have completed the programme.

The B.Tech. (Food Technology), M.Tech. and Ph.D. ( Processing and Food Engineering) students and scholars are being involved in the project/thesis research work in line with the recent and emerging fields of food process engineering and application oriented with the clientele groups.

Also in this department, ICAR sponsored All India Coordinated Research Project on Post Harvest Engineering and Technology is in operation since 1972. The scheme activities are mainly focused on the development of Food processing technologies and equipment.

Through the research work, about 40 agricultural processing gadgets / technologies have been developed by this department since its inception. These following gadgets and technologies are popular among the farmers and entrepreneurs.

1. Double walled bamboo bin
2. Husker sheller for maize
3. Groundnut decorticator (power operated)
4. Arecanut dehusker
5. Poultry/fish feed pelletizer
6. Dhal mill
7. House hold paddy parboiling tank
8. Turmeric boiler
9. Chilly seed extractor
10. Improved four roller sugarcane crusher
11. Vegetable seed dryer
12. Bottling of Sugarcane Juice
13. Sorghum peeler
14. Insect trap
15. Agricultural Waste Fired Mechanical Dryer
16. Puffing- cum-roasting machine
17. Tapioca chipper(power operated)
18. Seed-cum-urea coating equipment
19. Adhesive from tamarind kernel powder
20. Stored grain insect trap
21. Cleaner-cum-grader for pulses and ragi
22. Compost pelletizer
23. Process for particle board using coir pith
24. Stirrer mechanism for settling of Tapioca Starch
25. Tomato seed extractor
26. Pulper-cum-washer for coffee
27. Vacuum packaging of banana
28. Brinjal seed extractor
29. Technology of production of tomato paste
30. Extrusion cooking for finger millets
31. Fluidized bed dryer for mushroom
32. Mechanical thresher for pepper
33. Improved farm level turmeric boiler
34. Hand operated pepper thresher
35. Peeler cum washer for production of white pepper
36. Cardamom garbling unit
37. Cleaner cum grader for cardamom and pepper
38. Value added product from cabbage
39. Improved farm level Dhal Mill
40. Tamarind deseeder
41. Turmeric processing machinery

The developed technologies are disseminated to the farmers, entrepreneurs and industrial sectors.