Course syllabus

Course-PM

KLI011 KLI011 Food chemistry lp2 HT20 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Biology and Biological Engineering

Contact details

Lecturers:   IU = Ingrid Undeland          Chalmers (772 3820); undeland@chalmers.se (course examiner)

                   RL= Rikard Landberg          Chalmers (rikard.landberg@chalmers.se)

                   NL = Niklas Lorén               RISE (niklas.loren@ri.se)

                   JN=Jun Niimi                      RISE (jun.niimi@ri.se)

                   MJ=Monika Johansson       SLU (monika.johansson@slu.se)

                   LS= Lina Svanberg             RISE (lina.svanberg@ri.se)

                   MA= Mehdi Abdollahi       Chalmers (khozaghi@chalmers.se)

                   RF= Rikard Fristedt            Chalmers (rikfri@chalmers.se) (tentative)

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Course purpose

Food chemistry deals with the chemical, physical and functional properties of food constituents and the chemical changes these constituents undergo during handling, processing and storage including those that limit food shelf life. Food chemistry is a major aspect of Food science, that is an interdisciplinary subject in which the engineering, biological, and physical sciences are used to study the nature of foods, the causes of deterioration, the principles underlying food processing, and the improvement of foods from a consumer and sustainability perspective. The aim of the course is to provide the students with a deep understanding of how food components contributes to overall quality of foods; and to enable students to evaluate and explain how the highly complex nature of food may result in a multitude of desired and undesired reactions which are controlled by a variety of parameters.  

Schedule

See separate file under course information

TimeEdit (Links to an external site.)

Course literature

See separate file under course information

Course design

The aim of the course is to provide the participants with knowledge on how food components contribute to the overall quality of foods; and give tools to be able to evaluate and explain how the highly complex nature of food may result in a multitude of desired and undesired reactions which are controlled by a variety of measures.

After completion of this course you should have gained an understanding of the main principles, theories and concepts that are the basis of established knowledge in food chemistry.

The course includes:

• 30 lectures
• Compulsory laboratory exercises:
  • Lipid oxidation
  • Enzymatic browning of vegetables and fruits
  • Protein solubility
• Critical review of the chemical composition of a food product
• One study visit

Information, lecture slides and handouts are communicated via Canvas

Changes made since the last occasion

The course will run IRL instead of on zoom

Learning objectives and syllabus

The students will be trained to understand and discuss the main principles, theories and concepts underlying established knowledge in food chemistry. On completing this course, students should be able to:

• describe reactions and mechanisms important in food chemistry
• explain the chemistry of the most important food components, including their properties and reactions
• develop and distinguish how individual food components contributes to the overall quality of foods
• explain the major chemical reactions that occur during food handling, processing and storage, including those that limit food shelf life
• demonstrate knowledge on the relationship of chemical markers and key chemical compounds that relate flavour and colour attributes to thermal processing, chemical reactions (e.g. oxidative changes, Maillard reaction) and product quality
• demonstrate sufficient knowledge of food chemistry to control reactions in foods.
• implement a selection of laboratory techniques common to basic and applied food chemistry
• apply their knowledge and laboratory skills to measure, control and modify the chemical and physical properties of food
• explain the principles behind some of the most common analytical techniques used in food analysis (primarily chemical and physical analyses)
• be capable of designing and conducting experiments and interpreting data to understand important food chemistry principles
• In oral presentations, debate and written documentation, discuss and critically analyse literature data and food product information within a selected food chemistry topic.
• seek and acquire information, and to conduct independent studies in order to advance the personal knowledge within the area
• based on study vist(s), have brief knowledge about how a food production company operates.

Content

The course includes lectures with the following content:

1. Water and its interaction with food components and food stability
2. Carbohydrates:
   Mono-, di-, oligo-, and polysaccharides
   Decomposition - reducing and non-reducing sugars
   Starch - granule structure and properties, native and modified
   Heteropolysaccharides - pectic substances and seed gums
   Sweeteners
3. Lipids:
   Fatty acids and triglycerides
   Phospholipids
   Lipid oxidation (rancidity)
   Rancidity - hydrolytic and oxidative
   Hydrogenation - mechanisms and catalysts, trans fatty acids
   Interesterification
   Polymorphism
   Synthetic fats
4. Proteins:
   Amino acid chemistry
   Protein structure
   Protein changes during processing
   Vegetable, milk, cheese and meat/fish proteins
5. Browning reactions:
   Maillard reaction - formation and control
   Enzymatic browning
6. Emulsions
7. Colours and colorants
8. Food additives
9. Flavours
10. Toxic substances
11. Biopolymer structures

Compulsory parts:

1. Laboratory practicals will cover topics such as, Lipid oxidation, Enzymatic browning of vegetables and fruits, Protein processing.
2. Seminar work where the students should critically go in depht within a food chemistry topic. The outcome should be presented in an oral presentation and a written documentation.