Food engineering is considered a specialized engineering field, typically aligning within agricultural and chemical engineering. A food engineer may obtain further skills mainly through a university degree or industrial experience. When compared with other degrees such as chemical and mechanical engineering, a fundamental difference is indicated by specialized areas in food processing, food microbiology, and other related biological areas such as biochemistry. Typical industrial food engineering activities include: designing and optimizing food processes, development of food products, quality and safety assurance, selection and installation of food processing equipment.