Food and Fermentation Chemistry

Unit of Food Chemistry (3 CFU)
Major constituents of food.
Water. Structure of water. Interactions of water with food constituents and food matrices. Measurement of the water content of food.
Minerals: macro- and micro-elements.
Food additives. Classification and coding. Chemical properties of main classes of food additives (preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, etc.).
Food color. Molecular bases of color. Measurement of color in food. Natural and artificial dyes.
Flavor: flavor and taste of food. Taste: sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, sourness, and umami. Astringent and spicy compounds. Volatile compounds in food. Phenol compounds.
Natural and synthetic antioxidants: classification, properties and mechanism of action.
Undesirable substances. Main classes of undesirable compounds in food.
Chemical transformations associated to the industrial food processing: consequences on nutritional, toxicological, and taste properties of food. The Maillard reaction.

Unit of Fermentation (3 CFU)
Microorganisms used for industrial production of food by fermentation: characteristics and genetic improvement.
Fermentation technology: industrial media, bioreactors structure, batch, fed-batch, continuous culture, immobilized cells and enzymes.
Fermentation processes for food production: dairy products, alcoholic beverages, bakery products.
Microbial production of food additives: citric acid, glutamic acid.
Production of vitamins.


Reference Material
H.D. Belitz. W. Grosch, Schieberle, "Food Chemistry", Springer-Verlag,4thEd. (Berlin, Germany, 2009)


Prerequisites and examination procedures
Written examination


Teaching Methods: traditional


Language of instruction
Italian


WEB pages
http://gsperanzaca.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/v3/home/Default.aspx