CHEMMAT 756 : Food Process Engineering

Engineering

2023 Semester One (1233) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Application of engineering principles to food processing. Topics include: heating and thermal processing, cooling, freezing and thawing, evaporation, dehydration, the use of membranes and packaging. Innovative food processes: high pressure, pulsed electric, UV, ultrasounds and ohmic heating/cooking, and fundamental areas of engineering relevant for food processing such as heat and mass transfer. Process impact on food safety, quality and preservation.

Course Overview

Students will learn how to quantitatively analyse the basic food processing operations, such as thermal processing, chilling and freezing, drying, the use of membranes and packaging. Fundamental engineering matters, such as heat and mass transfer and fluid mechanics will be explored. Novel thermal and non-thermal processes will also be covered.  
 
At the end of the course, the student is expected to have a firm understanding of how different processing conditions and methods can affect the safety and quality of foods.  

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: CHEMMAT 201 or 211, and 15 points from ENGGEN 150, ENGSCI 111, MATHS 108, 110 Restriction: CHEMMAT 463, 772

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Explain the mechanism, equipment and applications of current practices in food processing including thermal processing, chilling and freezing, dehydration, evaporation, extraction, membrane separation and packaging. (Capability 1.1 and 3.1)
  2. Apply chemical engineering principles (heat, momentum and mass transfer, and mass and energy balances) to food processing systems to calculate operating conditions (Capability 1.1 and 2.1)
  3. Estimate the reduction in the microbial population for a thermal process by understanding the factors that affect microbial growth in foods (Capability 2.1)
  4. Evaluate the impact of food handling on the safety and quality of food products (Capability 2.1)
  5. Compare and contrast the benefits and limitations of innovative non-thermal and thermal technologies (Capability 1.1)
  6. Demonstrate practical proficiency in food processing laboratory (Capability 2.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Final Exam 40% Individual Examination
Assignment 10% Individual Coursework
Laboratories 20% Individual Coursework
Tests 30% Individual Test
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6
Final Exam
Assignment
Laboratories
Tests

Students must sit the exam to pass the course. Otherwise, a DNS (did not sit) result will be returned.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 36 hours of lectures (3 Lec/wk), 6 hours of laboratory work, 50 hours of reading and revision and 58 hours of work on assignment, report and tests preparation. Attending the labs is a compulsory in this course.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including labs to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. 
The course will not include live online events.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable delivery.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Health & Safety

This course will involve laboratory components undertaken in the MDLS space. Safety induction to the MDLS space will be embedded in the Canvas site of the course. Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The course did not receive enough responses in 2022 for the feedback to be released.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 22/11/2022 01:20 p.m.