Processes in Food Industry

Code

Course teacher

Associate teachers

Status of the course

Course objectives

The course is designed to give basic knowledge of food processing principles and applications. By the end of the course student should know the meaning of the major, general and specific, operations in food-processing engineering. Student should know the most important principles of food preservation and understand the basic principles and applications for major food processing techniques of commercial importance.

Course enrolment requirements and entry competences required for the course

Learning outcomes expected at the level of the course (4 to 10 learning outcomes)

Upon successful completion of this course, student will be able to:
- define different food sector activities and major processes in the food-process engineering,
- define objectives and methods of the basic preparatory and specific operations in the food industry,
- understand the significance and basic principles of food conservation,
- describe and understand food thermal processing methods
- define and understand food low-temperature preservation methods (cooling, freezing)
- understand the water activity concept and the implementation of environment control in food degradation control and contamination limitation
- know and understand the methods of food preservation by dehidratation
- describe fermentation and explain food bioconversion principles
- describe methods of conservation through addition of sugar, salt and preservatives
- understand basic principles of food conservation using microwaves and ionizing radiation

Course content broken down in detail by weekly class schedule (syllabus)

1st week: Introduction to process operation; Common terms and definitions; Classification of processing techniques; The major processes in food-processing engineering
2nd week: Mechanical and physical processes; general-preliminary and specific operations in food industry; removing of impurities; separation; removing of inedible parts; sorting, grading,...).
3rd week: Specific operations: emulsification/; extrusion; operations specific for chocolate manufacturing: refining, conching, tempering; depectination
4th week: Importance of food conservation; The main causes of food spoilage; GMP.
5th week: Thermal processing: (Classification an principles of thermal processes; Thermal resistance of microorganisms; Lethality concept; Characterization of heat penetration date and thermal process calculation for pasteurization
6th week: Commercial Canning operation: raw material selection, washing; sorting/grading; blanching; peeling/preparation, filling; Thermal processes equipment; Quality improvement in thermal processed food; Novel thermal processing techniques);
7th week: Low-temperature conservation; Refrigerated storage and common storage systems; CA
8th week: I. Colloquium
9th week: Food freezing: Thermo-physical properties of food undergoing freezing; The freezing process; Freezing time and rate; Thawing time prediction; Freezing methods; Commercial freezing equipment; Quality and stability of frozen food.
10th week: Food dehydration (Concept of water activity; Dehydration fundamentals; Common drying systems; Novel drying techniques; Quality and storage stability of dehydrated foods; Trends)
11th week: Separation and Concentration (Introduction, Evaporation, Membrane processing; Freeze Concentration; Extraction; Supercritical fluid extraction; Osmotic dehydration; Future trends)
12th week: Fermentation practices and principles involved in the bioconversion of foods. Food preservation by the use of sugar, salt and preservatives
13th week: The principles involved in microwave and ionizing radiation for the preservation of foods
14th week: Food packaging: Packaging materials and their transport and other properties; The atmosphere in package (Vacuum; CAP; MAP; Active packaging)
15th week: II. Colloquium
Exercises: Creation of the scheme of selected technological process; Application of some actions in the selected product processing: a) mechanical and thermal operations in processing raw materials (washing, cleaning, sorting, calibration, peeling, pitting, cutting, blanching, dipping, cooking, frying, roasting); b) preservation and changes during the food preservation (cooling, freezing, drying, concentrating, biological preservation, application of natural and chemical additives); c) packaging materials and shapes, labelling. Calculating the degree of process utilization; Normative calculations for different food products; Students visit to selected food industries.

Format of instruction:

Student responsibilities

Admission to the lectures and seminars of at least 70% of the times scheduled. Students are required to attend laboratory practice and field work 100%.

Optional literature (at the time of submission of study programme proposal)

H. Ramswamy, M. Marcotte, Food processing: Principles and Applications. Taylor&Francis, Boca Raton, 2006.
Z. Berk, Food Process Engineering and technology; 1st edition; Academic Press, Elsvier, Amsterdam, 2009
J.G. Brennan, Food processing handbook, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2005
P. Fellows, Food Processing Technology, 2nd Edition CRC Press, 2000;
M.S. Lewis, Physical properties of Foods and Food Processing Systems, VCH Publishers, 1987.

Quality assurance methods that ensure the acquisition of exit competences

Quality of the teaching and learning, monitored at the level of the (1) teachers, accepting suggestions of students and colleagues, and (2) faculty, conducting surveys of students on teaching quality.

Other (as the proposer wishes to add)