Learning objectives
The Dairy Microbiology course aims to enable students to independently draw conclusions regarding the effect of the presence and development of microorganisms, whether naturally present or intentionally added to milk or intermediate processing products, on the characteristics of the final dairy products.
The expected learning outcomes are:
1) Knowledge and understanding: knowledge of the microorganisms present in milk and starters and understanding how different downstream treatments can affect the microbiota of milk and the finished product.
2) Application skills: evaluating the microbiological quality of milk; identifying and controlling the presence and activity of microorganisms expected from different dairy processing methods.
3) Autonomy of judgment: assessing the effect of technological choices and setting environmental parameters on the development of pro-technological microorganisms in dairy products, collecting and critically interpreting microbiological data from raw milk to fermented dairy products; evaluation of teaching methods.
4) Communication skills: written and oral communication using scientifically correct terminology related to food microbiology; the ability to communicate with experts or non-experts in the dairy production sector, superiors, and/or customers; the ability to communicate microbiological aspects that may impact dairy products.
5) Learning skills: the ability to consult bibliographic material and databases related to dairy microbiology; the ability to critically consult websites related to the microbiological aspects of dairy products.
The laboratory exercises, which complete the student's training, aim to enable the student to conduct basic microbiological analysis, from estimating cell concentration to evaluating behavior under different growth conditions. In particular, the student must understand the significance of direct and indirect microbiological analysis and express the results correctly.
The expected learning outcomes are:
1) Knowledge of the methods and protocols to be applied for microbiological analysis.
2) Application skills: applying methodologies and techniques to evaluate the presence and quantify microorganisms in different matrices.
3) Autonomy of judgment: the ability to evaluate the results obtained from various experiments.
4) The ability to compile the results obtained into reports."
Prerequisites
General knowledge of microbiology, food science, and basic techniques for microbial enumeration in food is required.
Course unit content
The course content covers the fundamental concepts related to the microbiological contribution underlying the transformation of milk into dairy products. It consists of 4 CFU (32 hours) of lectures and 2 CFU (24 hours) of exercises, divided between classroom and laboratory exercises.
Full programme
Useful microorganisms present in the milk of different animal species
- Impact of storage conditions and downstream treatments on the microbiology of raw milk
- Intended contamination: primary starters and additional cultures
- Selected starters (Bacteria, Yeasts, Filamentous fungi)
- Natural starters
- Susceptibility of starter cultures to bacteriophage infection
- Microbiological aspects of fermented dairy products (yogurt and kefir, other commercial products)
- Microbiological aspects of the production of the main different types of cheese
Laboratory exercises:
- Impedimetric technique for studying growth kinetics of raw milk microbiota and selected starters
- Application of the plate count technique on selective and non-selective media for quantifying the cultivable population of different matrices
- DNA extraction from various matrices
- Absolute quantification of cultivable and non-cultivable populations using Real-time qPCR technique.
Bibliography
Mainly the lecture slides and the exercise protocols. The instructors will recommend appropriate texts for further reading on specific topics during the lessons.
Teaching methods
The teaching will be conducted through frontal lectures in the classroom and laboratory, using slides and protocols as educational materials. Supplementary texts will be recommended.
The slides will be available online on the Elly SAF website in PDF format for students. The lessons also include discussions of recent real-life case examples. For this reason, the slides, which are gradually updated for each topic, will be uploaded to Elly before each topic is covered, rather than all at the beginning of the course.
Attendance at laboratory exercises is mandatory, unless justified and approved by the course instructor. Attendance verification will follow methods and criteria established by each instructor, which will be communicated to students at the beginning of the course.
Assessment methods and criteria
At the end of the course, the level of learning of the expected outcomes for all content offered during the lessons, including practical exercises, will be assessed.
The learning assessment will be conducted through an oral exam preceded by a preliminary written screening test with multiple-choice questions. This test, which verifies the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental aspects of dairy microbiology, consists of 7 questions related to the lectures and 3 questions related to the practical exercises. The time allotted is 10 minutes. Correct answers to at least 9 out of the 10 questions are necessary to take the oral exam on the same exam date.
The oral exam aims to verify the knowledge, understanding, and communication skills regarding all topics covered in the lectures and practical exercises in dairy microbiology.
The grade will be expressed on a scale of thirty.
The exam results are published on the ESSE3 portal (https://unipr.esse3.cineca.it/Home.do).
Other information
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