Learning objectives
The course aims to know the biological phenomena behind the use of
virtuous microorganisms for the production of the main fermented foods.
The knowledge of the principles of food processing obtained by
fermentation will allow the student to understand the concepts of the
interactions which occur between process technology and
microorganisms used in the production of fermented foods healthy and of
high quality. The knowledge acquired will enable students to learn how to
control the growth of microorganisms necessary for the production of
fermented foods both in industrial and in typical productions in
spontaneous and driven fermentations. Particularly the students will be
able to comprehend the meaning of presence and development of
microorganisms in fermented food when they are added as starter or
they are naturally present in raw material recognizing the role of
autochthonous microorganisms. The course aims to put the student in a
position to draw conclusions about the effect of the presence and
development of microorganisms with technological attitude in agreement
with the specific objectives of the course and in agreement with the area
of food microbiology.
The student should be able to appropriately utilize the scientific language
and the specific lexicon of food microbiology, showing the ability to
describe and transfer in oral and written form the acquired concepts.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of basic aspect of microbiology and food microbiology
Course unit content
The first lessons are about general aspect relating to spontaneous or
guided fermentation as food processing method.
The second part of the course covers the knowledge of the main players
of the microbial fermentation: lactic acid bacteria and yeasts and their use as natural or selected starter
The third part of the course deals with the characteristics and microbial
dynamics responsible for the production of the main fermented foods of
animal and vegetable origin
Full programme
Presence of microorganisms in fermented food: Lactic acid bacteria,
yeast, natural and selected starter.
Microorganisms in dairy products: fermented milk, yogurt and cheeses.
The microbiological role in wine production.
Yeast, lactic acid bacteria and mould in red win, white wine and special
wine.
The microbiological role in bear production.
The microbiological role in meat fermentation.
The microbiological role in bread production, yeast and lactic acid
bacteria.
The microorganism involved in vinegar and balsamic vinegar production.
Other vegetal fermented food: role of microorganisms in soia products,
olives, sauerkrauts, coffe and cacao
Bibliography
Giovanni Antonio Farris, Marco Gobbetti, Erasmo Neviani, Massimo
Vincenzini “Microbiologia dei prodotti alimentari” (2012) Casa Editrice
Ambrosiana ISBN: 978-88-08-18246-
slides used during forntal lesson
Teaching methods
The teaching will be carried out through frontal lessons using slides that
represent teaching material made also available online in pdf format for
students
Assessment methods and criteria
Specific lessons aimed to assessing the state of learning will be carried
out at the end of each part of the course. Final examination will be
carried out by a written examination with open questions. Each
questions will be evaluated in arrange between 18 and 30. The final
evaluation will be obtained from the average achieved. The average
achieved will be the same or more than eighteen in order to pass the
exam.
The teaching "Microbiology of Fermented Food" is integrated with the
module "Microbiology of Fermented Food" and contributes to 50% of the
final evaluation of the student
Other information
This course is offered also for "Fermented food Microbiology" (second part of Food Microbiology)for Food Science and Technology course
