Food Chemistry and Analysis
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The educational objective of the course is to provide students knowledge on the main macro-micronutrients present in food matrices, the chemical and physical properties and the reactivity of these components. The course provides also the knowledges concerning the chemical composition of the food products for their evaluation under the nutritional profile and the standard of commerce. Finally the course will give the knowledge of applied analytical chemistry necessary for the evaluation of a food product.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student will have knowledge of the chemical components present in foods and their role for compositional, nutritional, technological and analytical methods, official or otherwise, for food control. The acquired Knowledge will enable the student to perform simple analysis using the basic analytical instrumentation and decide which to perform the classification by type of food with particular reference to quality control and authenticity. The student will be able to attend a food chemistry laboratory.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course supplies the students the knowledges concerning the chemical composition of the food products for their evaluation under the nutritional profile and the standard of commerce. However the main goal of this course is to give the knowledge of applied analytical chemistry necessary for quality and genuineness control of food products.
Macronutrients, micronutrients and not in foods, traditional and novel foods. Physico-chemical and sensorial modifications of chemical components in relation to foods processing and storage. Chemical contamination of food products. Additives. Quality. Authenticity. Typicity of food products. Importance of chemical analysis of food, principle, protocol and step of an analysis applied to a food matrix. Centesimal composition of foods. Classical (gravimetric and volumetric) and instrumental (spectrophotometry, liquid and gas chromatography) analyses . Official analyses and not. Qualitative and quantitative analyses. Legislative aspects. Sampling systems. Water and mineral elements in foods: properties and analysis, calculation exercises. Fats in foods: chemistry, analyses, calculation exercises. Nitrogen fraction in foods: classification and analyses, calculation exercises. Sugars in foods: classification, reducing properties, polarimetry and enzyme. Pigments, volatile aromatic substances and antioxidants in foods: chemical characteristics and analysis methods.
Chemical composition, legislation and analyses of following food products : drinkable and mineral waters, milk, butter, olive oil, cereals and by-products, musts and wines, vinegar, fruit juices.
Practical laboratory: flour, oil EVO, wine, milk, fruit juice.
- Flour analyses: humidity, ashes, acidity, proteins (Kjeldhal and electroforetic applications), fat matter.
- Olive oil analyses: acidity, peroxides, absorbance UV, Kreiss test, unsaponificable and TLC.
- Milk analyses: density, acidity, total and dry residual, fat matter, fosfatase and peroxidase test.
- Wine analyses: total and volatile acidity, SO2, alcoholic content, reducing sugars (Fehling), dry extract.
- HPLC analyses: determination of ascorbic acid in fruit juices.
- GC/MS applications on volatile compounds of food products.
Macronutrients, micronutrients and not in foods, traditional and novel foods. Physico-chemical and sensorial modifications of chemical components in relation to foods processing and storage. Chemical contamination of food products. Additives. Quality. Authenticity. Typicity of food products. Importance of chemical analysis of food, principle, protocol and step of an analysis applied to a food matrix. Centesimal composition of foods. Classical (gravimetric and volumetric) and instrumental (spectrophotometry, liquid and gas chromatography) analyses . Official analyses and not. Qualitative and quantitative analyses. Legislative aspects. Sampling systems. Water and mineral elements in foods: properties and analysis, calculation exercises. Fats in foods: chemistry, analyses, calculation exercises. Nitrogen fraction in foods: classification and analyses, calculation exercises. Sugars in foods: classification, reducing properties, polarimetry and enzyme. Pigments, volatile aromatic substances and antioxidants in foods: chemical characteristics and analysis methods.
Chemical composition, legislation and analyses of following food products : drinkable and mineral waters, milk, butter, olive oil, cereals and by-products, musts and wines, vinegar, fruit juices.
Practical laboratory: flour, oil EVO, wine, milk, fruit juice.
- Flour analyses: humidity, ashes, acidity, proteins (Kjeldhal and electroforetic applications), fat matter.
- Olive oil analyses: acidity, peroxides, absorbance UV, Kreiss test, unsaponificable and TLC.
- Milk analyses: density, acidity, total and dry residual, fat matter, fosfatase and peroxidase test.
- Wine analyses: total and volatile acidity, SO2, alcoholic content, reducing sugars (Fehling), dry extract.
- HPLC analyses: determination of ascorbic acid in fruit juices.
- GC/MS applications on volatile compounds of food products.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and analytical chemistry.
Teaching methods
The teaching consists of frontal lectures (teorical lessons with slides), classroom exercices with examples of protocols of analyses (blackboard and PC) and individual practical activities in the chemical laboratory.
During lessons, some learning tests, concerning the topics treated will be proposed in the classroom, and in a collective way, in order, to verify the understanding (theoretical and calculation), During the laboratory sessions, students will have to acquire the data analytical necessary for to write a short report.
During lessons, some learning tests, concerning the topics treated will be proposed in the classroom, and in a collective way, in order, to verify the understanding (theoretical and calculation), During the laboratory sessions, students will have to acquire the data analytical necessary for to write a short report.
Teaching Resources
It is highly recommended to use the files available on the Ariel website including the slides shown in class room, the official regulations concerning food products treated during the course, the safety standards in the chemical laboratories and the analytical methods relating to the practical experiments carried out in the laboratory.
Proposed text books are:
- Tom Coultate 2015 - Food: The Chemistry of its Components - ed. Royal Society of Chemistry;
- Shalini Sehgal, 2016 - A Laboratory Manual of Food Analysis - ed. I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd;
- Damodaran, Parkin 2017 - Fennema's Food Chemistry ed. CRC press. 5th ed. 2017.
Proposed text books are:
- Tom Coultate 2015 - Food: The Chemistry of its Components - ed. Royal Society of Chemistry;
- Shalini Sehgal, 2016 - A Laboratory Manual of Food Analysis - ed. I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd;
- Damodaran, Parkin 2017 - Fennema's Food Chemistry ed. CRC press. 5th ed. 2017.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of a written and an oral test.
- Written exam: 10 exercises (teorical and practical) to be carried out in one hour. Each exercise requires the acquisition of a score between 0 and 3 points. The passing of the written test, and therefore the admission to the oral test is achieved upon reaching a total of 18 points. The test includes all the topics of the course plus those covered in the laboratory. The laboratory is strongly suggested. Only the use of the calculator is allowed.
- Oral test: after the written test, and concerns the theoretical topics covered by the course and the questions of the written test. The final grade is formulated by the teacher evaluating the overall preparation and the competences acquired.
The exam modality is considered robust to verify the student's knowledge on the theoretical and calculation contents of the course based on the correctness of the language, understanding of the contents and expression of the required analytical parameters.
The evaluation of the test is expressed in thirtieths.
- Written exam: 10 exercises (teorical and practical) to be carried out in one hour. Each exercise requires the acquisition of a score between 0 and 3 points. The passing of the written test, and therefore the admission to the oral test is achieved upon reaching a total of 18 points. The test includes all the topics of the course plus those covered in the laboratory. The laboratory is strongly suggested. Only the use of the calculator is allowed.
- Oral test: after the written test, and concerns the theoretical topics covered by the course and the questions of the written test. The final grade is formulated by the teacher evaluating the overall preparation and the competences acquired.
The exam modality is considered robust to verify the student's knowledge on the theoretical and calculation contents of the course based on the correctness of the language, understanding of the contents and expression of the required analytical parameters.
The evaluation of the test is expressed in thirtieths.
AGR/15 - FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - University credits: 8
Laboratories: 32 hours
Lessons: 48 hours
Lessons: 48 hours
Professor:
Cosio Maria Stella
Shifts:
Professor:
Cosio Maria Stella
Turno 1
Professor:
Cosio Maria StellaTurno 2
Professor:
Cosio Maria StellaTurno 3
Professor:
Cosio Maria StellaEducational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
by e-mail appointment
office: Via Mangiagalli 25 - fifth floor