Description

This course will address the rising need and demand for more sustainable foods. The focus will be on enzymatic technologies and chemical/physical processes to obtain foods and ingredients from plants and other non-animal resources to be used in traditional food products as well as in innovative, novel products. The biochemistry of plant resources relevant for functionality in processing technologies will also be covered. Technology areas covered will be extraction and separation of the main food constituents (protein, carbohydrate, lipids, and other minor fractions) using physical/chemical processing and/or enzymatic processing. Important issues like nutritional composition and value, anti-nutrients, flavours and off-flavours will likewise be covered.   

The course will engage students in the development and innovation of new sustainable products applying the knowledge and skills obtained in the course, as students will work with various aspects of composition, enzymatic and chemical transformation of resources needed for production of selected foods. Sustainability aspects of these plant based foods will also be included.

 

Tentative Modules

• The sources and nutritional composition of foods of plant origin and current consumption recommendations.
• Plant resources as food ingredients: Diversity and extraction of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.
• Enzymatic, chemical and physical processing of plant resources for foods or ingredients.
• Nutritional value, anti-nutrients, flavours and off-flavours.
• Other processing technologies: High pressure and extrusion.
• Sensory aspects of plant-based foods.
• Sustainability: LCA assessment/basic principle and circular economy.

The overall aim is to provide the students with basic knowledge on plant foods and ingredients, and how plants are composed with respect to major and minor food constituents as well as nutritional and anti-nutritional values. A major aspect will be processing using enzymatic and chemical /physical technologies, and how this addresses the needs for sustainable, healthy, and tasty foods.

 

Knowledge

• Describe the importance of foods derived from plants for a well-balanced human diet and for environmental sustainability relative to other food sources.
• Identify the composition of plant resources relevant for food and food technologies.
• Demonstrate ability to apply enzymatic and chemical understanding to properties relevant for extraction, processing of plant sources in food technology.
• Understand and explain the processes that foods of plant-origin undergo:
  • Understanding of fractionation and separation.
  • Understand processing: enzymatic, chemical, physical and microbial.
  • Identify and explain the processes of extrusion, fermentation and high pressure, and their effects on functionality, taste and nutritional quality.

 

Skills

• Apply basic knowledge of food source composition and nutritional quality for development of new foods and ingredients based on a variety of plant resources.
• Develop innovative foods focusing on healthiness and sustainability.
• Apply the processes of extraction, using enzymatic, chemical and physical processing.

 

Competences

• Work independently and make intelligent use of scientific literature to make use of plant resources in food.
• Timely respond to societal trends referring to food innovation and needs for plant-based foods.
• Contribute with scientific evidence towards public recommendations and policy.
• Collaborate and contribute effectively in teamwork.
• Explain circular economy in the context of environmental sustainability.

Recommended qualifications

It is recommended to have competences within quality of raw food materials and food chemistry.

Also it is an advantage to have skills within Cell biology, Biochemistry and Processing.

Ability to work in groups.