Learning objectives
Aims of this course is to reach the basic knowledge concerning the use of microorganisms at industrial level and the industrial processes for biomass and metabolites production.
Great attention will be focused on industrial fermentation in food transformation and production
During lessons the student will improve his knowledge studying and discussing practical and theoretical "study cases" concerning the main topics of the lessons
The final goal of this course is to provide the students intellectual tools in order to judge and comprehend the main topics of food industrial microbiology, according to the microbiological area teaching field aims
The course provides the elements of general microbiology needed to understand the meaning and role of microorganisms in industrial fermentation processes. During lessons the student will improve his knowledge studying and discussing practical and theoretical "study cases" concerning the main topics of the lessons
The final aim of this course is to give students intellectual tools in order to judge and comprehend the main topics of food industrial microbiology.
Through the lectures held during the course, the student will acquire the methods and knowledge necessary to describe the industrial fermentation systems of the food industry. The student will learn the structure of the principles of industrial and food microbiology, in terms of organization and management of the industrial process, from raw material to product.
Through the practical exercises on some topics of the program, students will learn how to apply the acquired knowledge in a context that simulates the industrial reality through discussion of specific cases. The student will apply the acquired knowledge to the understanding and management of a production process, starting from the understanding of the microbiological elements characteristic of the process. The final goals will be able to evaluate, also through feasibility studies, the roles of the microorganisms involved in food industries also in term of their “technological” performance, in order to obtain safety, quality and profitability of the production process.
Students must be able to understand and critically evaluate the meaning, the technological role and the potential innovative applications of the microorganisms characteristic of food processes and of the industrial microbiology applications. Using the acquired knowledge in microbiology, the student will be able to analyze existing processes and plants, evaluating their performance, adequacy and possible improvements both in terms of performance and safety and quality.
Through the lectures and the discussion with the teacher, the student will acquire the specific vocabulary related to the food and industrial microbiology sector. It is expected that, at the end of the course, the student is able to transmit, in oral and written form (also with the help of informatics systems), the main contents of the course.
The student who has attended the course must be able to deepen their knowledge of microbiology of the food industry and industrial microbiology through the independent consultation of specialized texts.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledges of microbiology and food microbiology
Course unit content
Food Microbiology 6CFU
The first part of the course concerns the following topics :
- role of cell structure and differentiation on microbial metabolism and adaptation to the ecosystem
intrinsic and extrinsic environmental factors affecting microbial growth and phenotype expression
- microbial growth kinetic, survival and production of different metabolites
- DNA, RNA and protein expression
- genetic modification in prokaryote and eukaryote cells
The second part of the course concerns the topics of:
- industrial exploitation of microorganisms and genetically modified microorganisms
- Monod equation and its applications
- Biomass and primary or secondary metabolite production
- Industrial fermentation processes
- Batch; Fed-batch, continuous bioreactors
- Up stream and down stream
- Principles of process modelling and Scaling up of biotechnological industrial process
The third part of the course concerns the discussion and solving of real industrial "study cases", concerning industrial microbiology applied to the food industries
Full programme
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Bibliography
PRINCIPLES OF FERMENTATION TECHNOLOGY; Stanbury and Whitaker - Pergamo Press (1984)
BIOTECNOLOGIE MICROBICHE; Donadio and Marino - Ambrosiana (2008)
ProF Neviani Lesson notes
Teaching methods
The theoretical topics of the course are explained by means of lectures and will be carried out with the help of slides that represent educational material for students. Slides will be available on line. The slides and the notes used to support the lessons will be loaded at the beginning of the course on the Elly platform.
Basis and applications of industrial food microbiology will be discussed during lessons. The study, elaboration and discussion of specific "study cases (exercises and business cases)" are proposed on the practical parts of the course and could permit to verify the student comprehension and elaboration capacity.
During the exercises carried out in class, students will be required to apply the theory to real case studies or to projects developed according to the methodological criteria illustrated in the lessons and in the bibliographic and teaching material provided.
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. During the course, some lessons will be devoted to student presentation and discussion of "study cases (business cases are discussed as examples of the main theoretical arguments of the course)" useful to understand and verify the state of comprehension and the elaboration capacity reached concerning industrial microbiology application fields.
Final examination will be carried out by a written test, with a duration of about 60 minutes, either in form of multiple choices or open questions. The final evaluation will depend on the percentage of correct answers. In case of specific wish of the student the written test can be substituted or completed by an oral interview.
"Industrial microbiology" course is a part of "Predictive microbiology and industrial microbiology" course and contribute to 50% of the final evaluation.
Only in the case that the examination of the industrial microbiology is considered to be sufficent it will be possible to calculate the overall final evaluation
Other information
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