This course wants to provide students with the properknowledge able to guarantee a complete vision of the activities and the problems linked to the various kinds of production technologies, transformation and conservation of food products. The regulatory framework in force, which regulatesthe food sector in an across-the-board way, will be also analysed.

FOOD LAW: background, evolution of legislation in the sector. EC Reg 178/02: the General Food Law; traceability and retraceability. The hygiene package. HACCP. Food labeling: main provisions.

MOCA, materials and objects in contact with food.

MAIN FOOD PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS. Background: causes of food alteration and processing, principles of chemical and microbiological safety. Classification of preservation methods, classification of preserved products. Preservation with heat: action of high temperatures on microorganisms and enzymes, heat penetration, heat exchangers, pasteurization, sterilization; nutritive value of foods preserved with heat. Preservation by cold: action of low temperatures on microorganisms and enzymes, refrigeration, controlled atmosphere refrigeration, freezing, deep-freezing; nutritive value of frozen and "deep-frozen" foods. Preservation by dehydration: action of dehydration on microorganisms and enzymes, concentration by evaporation, cryoconcentration, concentration by memebrane processes, drying, freeze-drying; nutritive value of dehydrated foods.

Conservation with ionizing radiation:action of ionizing radiation on microorganisms, nutritive value of irradiated foods. Microwaves: hints.  Chemical and chemical-physical means of preservation: generalities, classification, natural chemical preservatives, smoking, artificial additives; nutritive value of foods preserved with chemicals.

MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS: generality, chemical and physical characteristics, chemical composition, sanitation and preservation (centrifugation, homogenization, microfiltration, heat treatments), specialty milks, characteristics and sales methods of raw milk, packaging, legislative recalls, labeling drinking milk, milk analysis, fermented milk, yogurt production, composition and nutritional characteristics of yogurt.

BUTTER: generalities and definition, cream extraction, buttering, continuous buttering, specialty butters, chemical composition and nutritive value, legislative recalls, sales designations.

CHEESE: generalities, definition, cheese making, cheese marketing, cheese classification, expiration date, designation protection (PDO, PGI, TSG), cheese characteristics, nutritional value, legislative recalls.

MEAT AND SALAMI: definition, generality, structure and chemical composition, modification of meat after slaughter, classification of meat, legislation, labeling biovine meats, the alternative meats (chicken, turkey, rabbit, ostrich), meat preservation, meat processing (cured meats), EC Reg. 1760/00.

FISH: generalities, classification, origin and consumption of fish, chemical composition, post-mortem modifications, freshness assessment, labeling, toxic substances in fish products (DL 531/92; Reg CE 853/04), preservation processing of fish products, preserves and semi-preserves, production of fishmeal and oil, fish oil, nutritional value of fish products.

SUGAR: generalities-definition, sugar industry, sugar production from beet and cane, types of sugar, utilization of by-products, analytical controls and parameters, legislative hints.

FLOURS, generalities- classification, wheat,gluten intolerance, celiac disease hints, wheat processing, flour classification, flour analysis, bread, pasta, rice, corn, barley, oats, rye, kamut.

VEGETABLES, LEGUMES, MUSHROOMS: generalities, chemical composition and classification.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS: wine, vinegar, beer, super spirits.

FOOD SUPPLEMENTS: definition, generalities , legislative, formulation and production aspects.

D1 - KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of this educational activity, the student will have to demonstrate to be able to:

-  Classify the different kinds of technologies and methods of conservation of food according to the nature of the food product and to the possible causes of contamination;

-  Know the different types of agri-food industries and relative producing methods;

-  Classify the MOCA (Materials in Contact with Food) and distinguish uses, advantages and disadvantages;

-  Possess knowledge of legislative aspects regulating food sector by identifying their evolution in time and their fields of applicability;

-  Possess knowledge about the regulation regarding labelling of food products.

D2 - APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

 The student will have to demonstrate to be able to:

-  Identify and describe the producing process of common food products by reading the labels on their packages;

-  Know the methods of conservation of common food products and the risks linked to the lack of respect for those methods;

-  Distinguish the quality of different food products according to their producing process and identify eventual fraudulent practices.

D3- MAKING JUDGEMENTS

The student will have to be able to:

-  Compare and analyse the different kinds of producing technologies and conserving methods and identify among them which one should be more suitable according to the nature of each food product;

-  Evaluate advantages, disadvantages and fields of application of the different kinds of producing technologies;

-  Evaluate the condition and the quality of common food products;

-  Rebuilt backwards the path of different food products by interpreting and applying the relative regulatory aspects.

D4 –COMMUNICATION SKILLS

 During this educational activity, the student will have to demonstrate to be able to:

-  Illustrate the producing methods and the quality features of different food products;

-  Present and comment the legislative aspects regulating production, transformation, distribution, conservation and use of the discussed types of food.

D5 – LEARNING SKILLS

 At the end of this educational activity, the student will have to be able to:

-  Consult scientific and regulatory texts and apply what studied to the professional field and the research.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lectures

Course books

Slides from lessons
Chimica degli alimenti, Cappelli-Vannucchi, Ed. Zanichelli.
Industrie agroalimentari, Vol. 1 e 2, Gian Giorgio D'Ancona, Ed. REDA.

Assessment

Written exam lasting 2 hours including : 10 closed multiple-choice questions worth 5 marks and 10 open-ended questions worth 25 marks. The questions will touch on the topics covered in the programme. The grade/result of the exam will be communicated via email to the candidate who can accept or reject the grade. It will be possible to view the assignment and, in special cases, it will be possible to request to take the oral exam as well. 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

In order to give non-attending students the opportunity to compensate by self-study what is done during the lectures, the following materials referring to the same contents of the programme are indicated with the aim of promoting their full understanding;
Slides from lessons put inside the Moodle platform

the teacher is available for on line tutoring if requested by non - attending students 
 

Course books

Chimica degli alimenti, Cappelli-Vannucchi, Ed. Zanichelli.
Industrie agroalimentari, Vol. 1 e 2, Gian Giorgio D'Ancona, Ed. REDA.