FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
cod. 1004073

Academic year 2015/16
3° year of course - First semester
Professor
Monica GATTI
Academic discipline
Microbiologia agraria (AGR/16)
Field
Discipline della tecnologia alimentare
Type of training activity
Characterising
67 hours
of face-to-face activities
6 credits
hub: -
course unit
in ITALIAN

Integrated course unit module: Food Microbiology

Learning objectives

The course of Food Microbiology aims to know the effect of the presence and development of pathogenic, spoilage and virtuous microorganisms in food. In particular, it should be developed knowledge about the major diseases originating from microorganisms through the consumption of food and alterations of microbial origin of food. Students must know the intrinsic, extrinsic and implicit factors that influence the development and survival of microorganisms in food. The knowledge of these aspects will provide the essential elements for understanding the role of microorganisms in food production and their impact on food quality. The use of this knowledge will also allow to understand the principles of the control of microorganisms using physical, chemical and biological or their combinations. The course aims to put the student in a position to draw conclusions about the effect of the presence and development of different microorganisms in food as defined in agreement with the specific objectives of the Master of Science in Food Science and Technology 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.
The lab book should be written correctly, with a synthetic but proper language and with a clear exposition and comment of the experimental results.

Prerequisites

knowledge of general microbiology

Course unit content

The first lessons are about topics of general interest related to microbial contamination and the effect of their development in food
The second part of the course are about the effect of the development of pathogenic, alterative and virtuous microorganisms in different foods
The third part of the course focuses on the factors that influence the growth of microorganisms in foods and the modalities of their control in order to prevent or reduce the development of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and promote the growth of microorganisms virtuous

Full programme

Microbiology and foods: basic concept of microbial contamination and microbial development in food
Food microbial quality: Microorganisms as indicators of process and contamination
Microbial contamination and food
Microbial growth phases and factors conditioning their development in foods: i) intrinsic (water activity, pH, Red-ox, nutrient, antimicrobial compounds), ii) extrinsic (temperature, humidity, atmosphere packaging, preservatives, treatments) and implicit (microbial interaction)
Spoilage of microbial origin: spoilage microorganisms and different type of food spoilage
Food borne microorganisms. Microbial food safety risk assessment of most important foodborne pathogens.
control of microorganisms in food. Safety, sterility and stability. Effect of some food control strategies: thermal treatment, water activity reduction, pH decrease, others
Main microbial aspects of: water and non alcoholic beverage, milk, meat, fish, fruit and vegetable, eggs, honey, preserved food

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 frontal 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. The course will also be joined by lessons about methods of laboratory analysis regarding the protocol most commonly used for counting of microorganisms. Lab experiments will be described by each student in a lab book, that will be an completing part of the final evaluation

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 is integrated with the module "Microbiology of Fermented Food" and contributes to 50% of the final evaluation of the student

Other information

Lessons frequency is not mandatory, although strongly encouraged. Lab experiments are mandatory: the student will be admitted to the final examination only if he/she has attended all the lab experiments, eventually without one justified absence

2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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