Principles of Food Quality

Overview

Structure and behaviour of food dispersions including gels, emulsions and foams; their formation and stability. Browning reactions in foods. Natural and synthetic food colourants and their stability. Oxidation of fats and oils. Sensory evaluation. Definition and measurement of food texture.

Learning Objectives

On completion of the module students will be able to:
• Critically identify the physical and chemical characteristics which influence the formation, stability and texture of food systems.
• Determine and describe the role of food colour and lipid oxidation to the sensory attributes of food.
• Identify the most appropriate sensory test to use in assessing sensory attributes of food products.
• Describe food textural attributes.

Skills

Practical laboratory skills, use of spreadsheets, numerical data manipulation, data presentation and interpretation, critical analysis, written and oral communication.

Assessment

Submission of all coursework elements. Minimum mark of 40% in the class test.