Basic information for understanding biotechnology applied to food processing will be presented. This will include a presentation of the physiology of important productive microorganisms used in food fermentations, closely related to applications in biotechnology; microbial kinetics, and design and operation of bioreactors; and application of modern molecular tools for food biotechnology.
Learning objective
The main goal for this course is to provide students with basic information for understanding biotechnology applied to food processing. For the students, the aim will be: - To understand the important role of microbial physiology and molecular tools for food biotechnology; - To understand basic principles of fermentation biotechnology, with particular emphasis on food applications.
Content
Biotechnology has been defined as any technique that uses living organisms, or substances from those organisms, to make or modify a product, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses. In this course, basic knowledge for understanding biotechnology as applied to food processing will be presented. This course builds on the application of principles learned from other basic courses in the Bachelor program, especially microbiology and microbial metabolism, molecular biology, biochemistry, physics and engineering. Students will learn about the physiology of important productive microorganisms (lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, propionibacteria and fungi) used in food fermentations, closely related to applications in biotechnology. Microbial kinetics, and design and operation of bioreactors used for both research and industrial scale production of traditional foods and modern food ingredients will be presented. This part will be illustrated by examples of food fermentation processes, representative of specific challenges. Finally, the application of modern molecular tools to food biotechnology will be discussed.
Lecture notes
A complete course document and/or a copy of the power point slides from each lecture will be provided.
Literature
A list of references will be given at the beginning of the course for the different topics presented during the course.
Performance assessment
Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course