The field of food informatics operates interdisciplinary at the interface of food science, biotechnology and computer science. The digitization of food processing is pushed in a holistic approach that includes the food supply chain, retailers/distributors and consumers. In cooperation with partners from industry, methods and technologies from the fields of artificial intelligence, predictive data analysis, Industry 4.0, adaptive software systems and the Internet of Things are transferred to the domain of food processing and optimized.

In addition, the department is associated with the Computational Science Hub of the University of Hohenheim and part of the Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology.

The core of the department's teaching activities is the basic computer science education of students, especially (but not only) in the ILB degree programs. This includes basic courses in the Bachelor's and Master's programs for learning how information systems work, programming, algorithms for standard problems, data structures, and computer networks. Advanced courses focus on topics in artificial intelligence, for example machine learning and adaptive software systems. This knowledge is illustated in real-world case studies in the area of food processing.

Final theses are intended to work with students on an equal footing in a collaborative supervisory approach. The goal of each thesis is to achieve high quality through the supervision of a member of the department, resulting in a scientific publication.