Learning objectives
Knowledge and Ability to Understand: The student will acquire the methods and knowledge necessary to understand the structure, physiology and diversity of microorganisms in agribusiness raw materials. Specifically, at the end of the course, the student will know the cellular organization of microorganisms, the metabolism they put in place to grow, will have understood how chemical, physical and biological factors influence the development and survival of microorganisms in raw materials for agribusiness, and will know how to analyze, from a microbiological point of view, some raw materials of food interest.
Application skills: evaluate the microbiological quality of raw materials, identify and predict the effect of different environmental parameters and the raw materials themselves on the multiplication of different microorganisms.
Autonomy of judgment: evaluate the effect of environmental parameters on microbial growth, collect and critically interpret scientific microbiological data from raw materials for agribusiness.
Communication skills: written and oral communication through scientifically correct vocabulary related to microbiology of agribusiness raw materials and ability to communicate aspects of basic microbiology that may have an impact in foods
Ability to learn: Ability to consult literature material
The Lab module. Microbiological Analysis Techniques aims to enable the student to independently draw conclusions regarding the microbiological analysis of raw materials for agribusiness in accordance with what is defined in the specific objectives of the professionalizing course of study Quality and Procurement of Raw Materials for Agribusiness and the area of food microbiology.
In particular, the student should be able to understand the meaning of direct and indirect microbiological analysis and express the result in the correct way.
The expected learning outcomes are:
Knowledge and understanding skills: Knowledge of the analytical parameters to be determined and the methods to be applied for both qualitative and quantitative microbiological analysis of a food matrix
Application skills: apply methodologies and techniques for microbiological analysis of foods
Autonomy of judgment: evaluate the microbiological quality of a food based on the result of a microbial count of raw materials
Communication skills: communication of a result of a microbiological analysis of a liquid and solid food.
Ability to learn: Ability to critically consult databases and websites related to microbial count methods for specific microorganisms.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites
Course unit content
The Raw Materials Microbiology module will be divided into 3 parts. The first part of the course will cover cell biology topics such as the structure, functions, nutrition, metabolism and growth of microbial cells of importance in agri-food raw materials such as bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi. The second part will focus on factors influencing the growth of microorganisms in agribusiness raw materials. The third and final part will be devoted specifically to the microbiological analysis of some agribusiness raw materials.
The Lab module, Microbiology of Raw Materials complements the content of Microbiology of Raw Materials and covers the application of microbiological analysis techniques of raw materials for agribusiness. It is 3 CFUs of exercises comprising 45 hours of lectures divided between classroom and lab exercises.
The first part of the exercises involve the explanation and significance of different microbiological counting techniques. Then there is the practical application part in the laboratory. Attendance of the hours of laboratory exercises is compulsory, unless justified assessed by the lecturer of the teaching. The lecturer will notify students at the beginning of class of the maximum number of absences allowed. Attendance will be ascertained in accordance with the methods and criteria established by the individual lecturer, who will make them known to students at the beginning of class
Full programme
Introduction to microbiology. Eukaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. Cell structure and functions: cytoplasm, cell membrane, cell wall, microbial locomotion, bacterial endospores, bacterial morphology. Microbial nutrition and metabolism: nutrients and nutrient transport mechanisms necessary for the microbial cell, bacterial metabolism. Stages of growth of microorganisms and factors that regulate microbial development: i) intrinsic, ii) extrinsic and iii) implicit. i) Water activity, pH, Redox potential, structures and nutrients, antimicrobials. ii) Temperature, humidity, packaging atmosphere, preservatives, treatments. iii) interactions between microbial populations. Microbiological analysis of raw materials of food interest.
The module Lab. Microbiology of Raw Materials will have the following program:
The purpose of microbiological analysis of food.
Direct and indirect methods of microbiological counts.
The decimal dilution
The microbiological count media
The plate count
Expression of the result of a microbiological analysis of an agribusiness raw material
Principles of microscopy applied to the microbiological analysis of foods
Online search for microbiological characteristics of foods and count methods for different microorganisms in different foods
Bibliography
Michael T. Madigan, John M. Martinko Brock
“Biologia dei microrganismi. Microbiologia generale,
ambientale e industriale” (2016) Editore: Pearson.
ISBN: 889190094X
Microbiologia alimentare applicata.
Cocolin Luca, Marco Gobbetti, Erasmo Neviani. Editore: CEA ISBN: 8808120074
Ann Elizabeth Vaughan Pietro Buzzini Francesca Clementi. Laboratorio didattico di microbiologia (2008) Casa Editrice Ambrosiana. Distribuzione esclusiva Zanichelli. ISBN: 9788808183224
Teaching matherial (slides)
Teaching methods
The course will be carried out through lectures with the help of slides that will represent teaching material, in addition to the recommended books. The slides will be available online on Elly's website in pdf format for students. During the lessons, the appropriate use of technical language will be reiterated, and the links between the various parts of the course will be emphasized. For this reason, the presence and active participation of students is strongly encouraged.
The module Lab. Microbiological Analysis Techniques will be carried out through face-to-face exercises both in the classroom and in the laboratory. Lectures will be carried out with the aid of slides that will represent teaching materials, supplementing the recommended texts. The slides will be available online on the Elly SAF website in pdf format for students and some videos useful for viewing the operational sequences of plate count analysis. During the lectures, the appropriate use of technical language will be reiterated, and connections between the various parts of the course will be emphasized.
The content of lecture exercises, conducted both in the classroom and in the laboratory, individually and in groups, and will be an integral part of the final assessment.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final learning test will be carried out through a written test divided into three parts. The first part consists of 10 questions that will verify the knowledge of the fundamental contents of the course. For this reason the correctness of the answers of the first part is mandatory for the correction of the second. The second part consists of questions in which the student must demonstrate the level of knowledge acquired. In particular 10 of the 31 questions foreseen in this second part will relate to the Lab module. Techniques of microbiological analysis. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. The third part will consist of an open-ended question in which the student must demonstrate that he is able to correctly express the acquired competence with specific microbiological language.
Other information
Attendance of laboratory exercise hours is compulsory unless justified assessed by the teaching faculty member.
