Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding: the course aims to enable the student to acquire knowledge for a deepen understanding of factors influencing macroscopic properties, stability and microstructure of food products and analytical techniques for the physical characterization of food matrices.
Applying knowledge and understanding: the course aims to make the student able to apply the acquired concepts in food industry for the evaluation and control of physico-chemical stability and structure of foods.
Making judgments: based on the information acquired, the course intends to provide students with the tools useful to critically discuss food structure in relation to their stability, and the choice of proper analytical techniques to study such factors.
Communication skills: the course intends to provide the student with a proper technical-scientific language useful for the communication to the sector experts and not experts.
Learning skills: the course aims to provide the student with the learning skills necessary to study in a widely autonomous way, by searching for case studies that are discussed in class.
Prerequisites
Unit operations of food technologies and food processes.
Course unit content
- Crystalline and amorphous state, phases, first and second order phase transitions, phase transition in food, phase transitions in food products and processes.
- Water state in different structural levels and food stability
- Thermal analytical techniques: DSC, TGA, DMA.
- Rheological techniques: texture and rheometric analysis
- Microstructure characterization: microscopy
- Structure-nutritional, technological and sensorial functionality relationship.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Mandatory:
- .pptx presentations used during the lessons.
- Chapters 4,5 and 13 of the text “Food Materials Science: Principles and Practice (Food Engineering Series), Aguilera, Lillford, 2008, Springer”
To deepen the study:
- Food texture and viscosity, concept and measurement, 2nd edition, Bourne, Academic Press, Food Science and Technology, International Series
- Non-Equilibrium States and Glass Transitions in Foods, 1st Edition, Processing Effects and Product-Specific Implications, Eds. Bhesh Bhandari Yrjö Roos.
- Phase Transitions In Foods, Roos, 1995, Academic Press
- Physical properties of foods: novel measurement techniques and applications Arana, 2012, CRC Press.
Teaching methods
The lessons will be organized face-to-face. During the lessons, face-to-face situations will be alternated with interactive situations.
Seminars and the individual reading and class discussion of scientific articles will be offered.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written exam with open questions that will verify the acquired knowledge by the student and the ability to apply such knowledge to the solution of case studies. Moreover, it will be also evaluated the technical-scientific language acquired.
The exam is made by 4 open questions where a maximum of 8 points can be given for each question.
Other information
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