96549 - Principles of Food Technologies and Quality of Food Products

Learning outcomes

Students will acquire the ability to assess the quality and safety of food in relation to the characteristics of the raw material, technology and conditions of production, distribution and serving. They will acquire the ability to examine, interpret and communicate a typical product specification in relation to.

Course contents

Food components and main nutrients and their characteristics: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The role of water in food: free and bound water. Main food alterations: microbial, chemical and physical; stabilisation techniques and general principles of quality control for agri-food products and derivatives. Main stabilisation and transformation processes and their influence on quality. Definition and evaluation of quality from the authenticity of food: meaning of the main quality marks of typical products, PDO, PGI and other commercial indications.

The in-depth study of the classes of agri-food products will be for the student application examples of the first part of the course, which will strengthen and complete the general knowledge of the quality of agro-foods.

At the end of the course, the student will have the ability to critically evaluate the phenomena and will be able to apply the skills of examining the quality of agri-food products.

Training prerequisites

For this teaching the student must have a good preparation in the fundamentals of mathematics, physics and chemistry. This knowledge is acquired through the basic lessons of the first year of the course.

Milk and derivatives: Definition and composition of milk, heat treatments on milk, meaning of the analysis of the main components of milk, Cheesemaking: mechanism, Milk aptitude for cheese making, Parmigiano Reggiano technology, butter production technology.

Fatty substances: Composition and general characteristics, Extraction from oilseeds, refining of crude oils, Extraction from oilseeds, oils from the processing of olives, meaning of the analysis of the main components of the fatty substances.

Alcoholic drinks: Composition and general characteristics, Grape transformation technology: wine making in red, white, rosé and by carbonic maceration, The use of sulphur dioxide, meaning of the analysis of the main components of the wines.

Cereals and derivatives: Composition and general characteristics, Wheat flour, Gluten formation, Production of the dough, Meaning of the analysis of the characteristics and main components of wheat flour

Practical exercises and seminars (total 20 hours) will be done on mod2

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching material updated during the lesson, will also available through registration to the distribution list, username and password at AMS Campus - AlmaDL - University of Bologna. Scientific articles will be made available through the University Library System. Useful text for further reading: Principles of Food Chemistry P. Cappelli and V. Vannucchi, Ed. Zanichelli, available in the DISTAL library.

Teaching methods

Lectures, tutorials and group work The teaching consists of 6CFU of which 2CFU practical activity

Assessment methods

The exam will be held in written form in the computer lab on the EOL platform, in a single session for the two modules that make up the course.

The exam schedule will be available in advance on ALMAESAMI. No registrations will be accepted after the deadline. Students are invited to sign up for the date they want within the deadline and, if they decide not to take the exam, to cancel their registration by the exam date. If you don't sign up on ALMAESAMI, you won't be able to take the exam on the date you want.

The use of devices is not permitted during the exam.The exam consists of eight questions: multiple choice, true or false, and open-ended questions. The exam is designed to assess knowledge of the topics covered in the programme, the ability to apply the concepts learned, critical analysis skills, the ability to connect topics in a logical and deductive manner, and the use of correct language and appropriate technical terminology to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the subject through the study of material proposed by the teacher for further study. Each question carries a score that will be assigned in proportion to the accuracy and completeness of the answers provided. In the event of an error, no points will be deducted for incorrect answers. The time allowed is 60 minutes. 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

slides and scientific papers

Office hours

See the website of Maria Caboni

See the website of Silvia Marzocchi