FOODSCI 708 : Advanced Food Science

Science

2020 Semester Two (1205) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

The functions and properties of food additives. Food attributes including colour, flavour and texture. Enzymic and non-enzymic browning. Emulsions and foams. Introduction to the Food Regulations. Interaction of macromolecules.

Course Overview

The focus of FOODSCI 708 is to provide the students with advanced knowledge of the chemical additives in food products and reactions affecting food quality. The students attending this course will mostly acquire expertise and skills to tackle the needs and challenges of the food industry.  Additionally, this year new lectures will overview, in detail, the physico-chemical feature of common food formulations (such as foams and emulsions). This will provide the students with fundamental knowledge for the design of potentially new foods.  
Finally, this year is our pleasure to host a series of lectures from Hemeritus Professor Laurence Melton - founder of the Food Science programme at The University of Auckland. His lectures will focus on the big challenges lying ahead of food scientists, and will be especially focussed on the topics of genetic modifications of food using the new genetic tools of CRISPR/Cas, and food in extreme environments. This set of special lectures will allow the students to have an overview of how Food Science can attempt to 'feed the world' in an ever changing landscape of food supply and demand.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: Permission of Programme Director

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Master of Science

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Show an adequate understanding of the chemical changes affecting food by identifying the chemical modifications affecting food compounds involved in the reactions that interest food upon modifications of the microenvironment. (Capability 1 and 2)
  2. Identify the chemical components illustrated in the lecture (Capability 1 and 3)
  3. Understand and describe the principles controlling browning in food products (Capability 1, 2 and 4)
  4. Understand and describe the ethical implications for the use of genetic engineering to satisfy food demand (Capability 1, 5 and 6)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Test 15% Individual Test
Final Exam 55% Individual Examination
Presentation 30% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Test
Final Exam
Presentation

Key Topics

The design of the lectures and their delivery will be targeted towards the following topics:

Volatile aroma/odour compounds in food: theory; difficulties encountered during sample preparation, isolation, analysis and identification; methods of extraction; GC analysis; flavour-bulk food interactions; GC-Olfactometry; flavour release in the mouth; electronic noses.

Food colourants: the need and purpose of food colour; measuring colour in foods; colour regulations; synthetic food colours including dyes and lakes; natural food colours; inorganic food colourants.

Food additives other than those covered above: acids; bases; buffer systems and salts; sequestrants; antimicrobial agents; stabilisers and thickeners; fat replacers; masticatory substances; texturisers; clarifying agents; bleaching agents; anticaking agents; gases and propellants.

Food sweeteners: sweetness as a sensory property; theory of sweetness; sweetness substances including sugars, polyhydric alcohols, natural sweeteners, synthetic sweeteners and sweet proteins.

Enzymatic browning: reactions and mechanism; substrates; function of the enzymes involved; influence of pH, temperature and water activity; influence on food processing; means to alleviate adverse PPO action with examples.

Non-enzymatic browning: mixing amino acids and sugars; reactions in Maillard chemistry; Schiff's bases and Amadori / Heyns products; influence of roller drying and spray drying on milk lysine; influence of temperature, pH and aw; acrylamide formation from Maillard chemistry; control of Maillard reactions; the difference between caramelization and Maillard chemistry.

Molecular Interactions in food components. Physics and chemistry of food emulsions and foams. Biotechnology in Food. 

CRISPR/Cas systems applied to food. Food in extreme challenging environmental conditions, i.e. adapting to climate change and food for space exploration. 

Learning Resources

Lecture Material.

Course Book: 
S. Damodaran, K.L.Parkin, O.R. Fennema (Eds) (2007). Fennema’s Food Chemistry 4th Edition. CRC Press. Taylor Francis Group.

Additional resources:
T.G. Mezger (2006). The Rheology Handbook 2nd Edition, Vincentz Network, Hannover, Germany.
G. Reineccius (2005). Flavor Chemistry and Technology. CRC Press. Taylor Francis Group.
G. Reineccius (1994). Source Book of Flavors. An Aspen Publication.
R. Teranishi, E.L. Wick, I. Hornstein (Eds) (1999). Flavor Chemistry. Thirty Years of Progress. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
T.E. Acree, R. Teranishi (Eds) (1993). Flavor Science. Sensible Principles and Techniques. ACS.
L.A. Branen, M.P. Davidson, S. Salminen, J.H. Thorngate (Eds) (2001). Food Additives. CRC Press, NY. Available as an eBook from Library: eBook ISBN: 978-0-8247-4170-9.
R. Jeantet, T. Croguennec, P. Schuck, G. Brulé (Eds) (2016). Handbook of Food Science and Technology 1. ISTE Ltd.

Special Requirements

Not applicable. Although participation to lectures is not compulsory it is strongly advised when possible. 

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point post graduate 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 will receive 2 hours of lectures per week and there is an expectation that you will spend 4 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 4 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Digital 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.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.

You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

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.

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 at 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.

Student Feedback

During the course Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the staff responsible for the course and staff-student consultative committees.

At the end of the course 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.

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

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 you may be asked to submit your 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. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 17/07/2020 04:08 p.m.