Interdisciplinary Methodologies for Food Systems

Lectures
Molecular bases of biochemical approaches used for food investigation as food, with a specific focus on:
- The quantiifcation of macromolecular species and their meaning in food systems; the impact of food treatments on biological activity of macromolecules and of interactions between food macromolecules.
- Microbiological aspects of main food chains (milk and dairy, cereals and pseudocereals, ,meat and derivatives, fruits and vegetables, water, beverages, and products at low aw). Culture media for identiification of main microorganism of food interest (starter, pathogens, spoilage).
- Effect of food formulation, of processed and packaging parameters on quality index of processed and/or preserved food.
Classroom exercises
- Interctive presentation of main biochemical approaches for food characteriztion
- Seminars and peer-group discussions on activities made during the practical labs, organized in "conceptual clusters".
- Safety and prevention of biological laboratory risk; organization of the procedures in a microbiological laboratory.
- Description of the procedures related to food analysis from a quality and safety standpoint, using a learning-by-doing approach.
- Peer discussions on "case studies", showing the interdisciplinary methods presented in the course.
- Introduction to data processing. Application of basic statistics. Elaboration of experimental data collected during practical activities or of case studies. Graphics and reports production. (computer room).
Practical activities
- Identification, separation, and quantification of proteins in food matrices; characterization and definition of enzyme activity: detection of specific compounds in food by using enzimatic and immunochemistry methods.
- Microbial analyses in the main food types, by microbiological tecniques. Data analysis and technical reporting.
- Physico-chemical and rheological analyses of food products as connected to formulation, processing and packaging
Educational visits
Educational tours of pilot plants and research laboratories.