Students will be able to:

Describe the changes which occur during production and storage of food.

Propose the preservation method for particular food product.

Calculate the effectiveness of the preservation procedure and design its optimization.

Estimate the shelf-life of food product.

R: Tucker G.S., Food Biodeterioration and Preservation, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008, ISBN 9781405154178.

A: Fellows P.J., Food Processing Technology, Principles and Practice, Woodhead Publishing, 2016, ISBN 9780081019078

A: Rahman S., Handbook of Food Preservation, 2010, Woodhead Publishing, ISBN 9781574446067

1. History of food processing and preservation. Mechanism of food spoilage. Unwanted changes in food and food raw materials and possibilities of their prediction and inhibition.

2. Microbiological changes of food. Pathogenic and spoilage microflora. Ecology of microorganisms. Food safety.

3. Physiological, enzymatic, chemical and physical deteriorative changes in food. Practical examples of reactions and defects in food and their prevention.

4. Importance and function of food packaging, basic packaging materials and their properties and application

5. Principles of abiotic and anabiotic methods of food preservation. HACCP. Sanitation. Elimination of microorganisms from the food production environment (bactofugation, filtration).

6. Selected physical methods of preservation –high hydrostatic pressure, irradiation, ohmic, microwave and infrared heating of food (principle, equipment, practical use).

7. Thermoinactivation. Factors influencing thermoinactivation of microorganisms. Ways of heat transfer and thermosterilization. Construction of thermal destruction curves. Calculation and evaluation of the lethal ratio of heating.

8. Osmoanabiosis. Reducing water activity in food by drying, concentration, salting, sugaring and and freezing. Description of the drying phases.

9. Refrigeration and chilled storage of food. Storage in a controlled and modified atmosphere. Freezing and storage of frozen food. Changes during freezing and storage, temperature monitoring, prediction of shelf life.

10. Chemical preservation. Properties of selected chemical preservatives, smoking, alcoholisation, acidification and phytoncides. Principles of action. Technological and health aspects.

11. Biological methods of preservation (cenoanabiosis, biopreservation). Bacteriocins. Ethanol, lactic acid, and acetic acid fermentation. Microbial proteolysis.

12. Protection of food by packaging, interactions between packaging and food, principles of active packaging.

13. Protective function of packaging against moisture, oxidative-reduction and temperature changes.

14. Hurdle theory, minimally processed food. Practical examples of food products, design of a possible preservation method, definition of factors influencing expected undesirable changes and prediction of their shelf life.

AB320001 Biochemistry I

AB320007 Microbiology

AB321001 Food Technology

Or adequate knowledge at the bachelor's degree level:

Biochemistry

Microbiology

Food technology

Successful completion of a written examination