FOOD 524: Advances in Food Processing

Syllabus Version: 5th January 2024

Instructor: Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh (anubhav.singh@ubc.ca)

Lab Instructor: Dr. Farahnaz Fathordoobady (farah.fathordoobady@ubc.ca)

Teaching Assistant: Mr. Xanyar Mohammadi (xanyar.mohammadi@ubc.ca)

Course Details

Lecture Time: Thursday 11 AM – 12:30 PM

Laboratory Time: FNH 190 @ Monday/Thursday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Text Book/Required Material

Ramaswamy H. & Marcotte M. (2005). Food Processing: Principles and Applications (1^st Edition). CRC Press. (Available as e-book in UBC Library https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203485248 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.)
Brennan J. and Grandison A. (2011). Food Processing Handbook, Second Edition. Wiley-VCH Verlag. (Available as e-book in UBC Library https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9783527634361 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.)
Fellows, P.J. (2016). Food Processing Technology: Principles and Practice (4^th Edition). Elsevier Science & Technologies. (Available as e-book in UBC Library https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=4711752 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.)
Lecture slideshows, assignments and other readings posted on Canvas.
Additional reading/background material will be made available as required.

Course Objective

This course addresses advanced aspects of food processing concepts and technology and is intended as a transition course for graduate students. In addition, this course provides students with hands-on experience in the fundamental operations and principles employed in the food industry: thermal processing, food freezing, food dehydration, size-reduction/homogenization/encapsulation, and novel processing technologies. It is expected that students registering in this course have some pre-requisite knowledge of food processing, while some preliminary knowledge is provided through pre-recorded and transcribed lectures. The course builds up on that knowledge to equip the learners with advanced information as well as hands-on-training on cutting-edge food processing equipment.

Group work is one of the core tenet of this course. Students are pre-assigned to work in groups of 5 students to complete these 3 laboratory modules by conducting experiments, collecting data, analyzing the results, and submitting a report at the end of each module. Students also work in groups to deliver group lectures on advances in various food processing approaches, as well as submit a term paper that will highlight the recent developments in the last 5 years and future outlook.

By the end of this course, students should be able to do the following:

Describe the science (mechanism of action), history, importance, benefits and disadvantages of various processing approaches commonly applied in food industry.
Select appropriate mathematical models and Calculate important food processing parameters in order to Design an industrial food process.
Employ a suitable dehydration/freezing process for increasing the shelf-life of a food product.
Recognize emerging technologies and concepts in food process science.
Know where to look and how to find information about food process science and engineering principle, design and equipment.

Checklist for Course Preparation

Read the Pre-Reading Material and come prepared to class.
Bring a smartphone or computer to all classes.
Have access to a scientific calculator for all classes including tutorials and exam.
Have access to course lectures, laboratory manuals, assignments, textbooks and other materials posted on Canvas throughout the course.
Use the discussion boards on Canvas to ask and answer questions. In the event you need to send a message to your instructor directly/privately, please send to: anubhav.singh@ubc.ca

Course Content

Introduction

Course outline, Tutorial schedule, Exam Structure

Lecture Module 1: Advances in Thermal Processing

Suggested Reading Material: Ch. 3 - Ramaswamy and Marcotte; Ch. 8, 11 & 12 – Fellows; Ch. 2 - Brennan and Grandison

Thermal Processing Fundamentals, Temperature Distribution & Heat Penetration Study

Thermobacteriology & Destruction kinetics

Heat Penetration Curve & Thermal Process Calculations

Thermocouple Collection Factor, Broken Heating Curves & Integrated Lethality

Aseptic & Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) processing

Lecture Module 2: Advances in Food Dehydration

Suggested Reading Materials: Ch. 5 - Ramaswamy and Marcotte; Ch. 14 – Fellows; Ch. 3 – Brennan and Grandison

Dehydration Fundamentals & Process

Moisture Content, Water activity, Moisture Sorption Isotherm (MSI) & Hysteresis

Quality and Storage Stability of Dehydrated Foods

Novel Drying Techniques: Microwave-vacuum and freeze drying

Lecture Module 3: Advances in Food Freezing

Suggested Reading Material: Ch. 4 - Ramaswamy and Marcotte Ch. 20 & 22 – Fellows; Ch. 4 - Brennan and Grandison

Freezing Fundamentals, Thermophysical Properties influenced by Freezing

Freezing Methods and Models

Novel freezing techniques

Quality and Storage Stability of Frozen Foods

Lecture Module 4: Advances in Size-reduction, Homogenization and Encapsulation

Suggested Reading Materials: Ch. 4 – Fellows; Ch. 11 – Brennan and Grandison

Homogenization fundamentals and theory of homogenization

Emulsions and factors affecting emulsion stability

Homogenization equipment, microfluidizer and high-pressure homogenizer

Encapsulation and emerging encapsulation techniques

Lecture Module 5: Advances in Novel Processing Technologies

Suggested Reading Materials: Ch. 7 – Fellows; Ch. 6 & 7 – Brennan and Grandison

High Pressure Processing

Microwave processing and microwave-vacuum dehydration

Ohmic Heating

Pulsed Electric Field

Pulsed UV light

Cold Plasma

Optional Module 6: Advances in Food Packaging

Suggested Reading Materials: Ch. 24 – Fellows; Ch. 8 – Brennan and Grandison

Introduction to Food Packaging

Food Packaging Material Properties & Manufacture

Food Packaging Safety

Role of Nanotechnology in Food Packaging

Laboratory Module 1: Thermal Processing

To check the integrity of two different types of thermocouples and calibrate them against an ASTM thermometer.
To carry out temperature distribution study on a lab-scale sterilizer or pasteurizer, establish come-up time and to measure the uniformity of the heating environment.
To collect, record and work with time/temperature data using thermocouples, data-logger and associated software.
To determine safe pasteurization and sterilization processes for assigned food products.

Laboratory Module 2: Dehydration

To dehydrate food samples using 2 different techniques.
To compare the final water activity, and visual and textural sensory attributes of the final products.

Laboratory Module 3: Size Reduction, Homogenization & Encapsulation

To formulate a fermented functional food using mixing, homogenization, ultrasonication, pasteurization and starter inoculation.
To conduct sensory evaluation and phyisco-chemical characterization of the product.

Tentative Course Outline Breakdown of Semester Timeline

See Course Summary or Calendar on Canvas

General Laboratory Rules

Please make sure to follow the guidelines provided below. A portion of your mark (3%) will be dedicated to the careful observation of the laboratory rules.

Information and instructions will be provided at the beginning of each session. Be on time and listen carefully when the instructions are given.
Be prepared for your work in the laboratory. Read all procedures thoroughly before each session. Do not use any equipment without previous instruction.
Wear your pilot plant lab coat all the time while working in the laboratory.
Observe the lab safety protocols at all times.
Long hairs should be tied back for safety. Be cautious of hot surfaces, wear protective gloves.
A toolbox will be assigned to your group at the beginning of the first lab session. This toolbox will be returned at the end of the term. You are responsible for the maintenance and completeness of the contents inside the box.
You are responsible for cleaning the materials, equipment, and work station used in the duration of your experiment. Thermocouple tips and connectors must be cleaned carefully before and after an experiment.
Please do not remove any equipment or take any lab-ware without asking as they might be in use by others.
Always check to see that the power switch is OFF before plugging/unplugging a cord.
Report any accident (spill, breakage, etc.) or injury (cut, burn, etc.) to your lab instructor immediately.
Your participation, teamwork and your laboratory practices will be considered in your overall evaluation.
A record note book is provided to your group. Please record your experiment in the notebook. All group members should have entries in the lab book. Consult with the following link for best practices https://www.training.nih.gov/assets/Lab_Notebook_508_(new).pdf
Observe proper disposal of waste. Ask your lab instructor if you are unsure of where to dispose specific discarded material, solvents and solutions used in the experiment.

Assessment Overall Grade

The overall grade for the course will be calculated according to the following table.

Progressive Evaluations	Lab Reports	Group Presentation	Group Term Paper	Group Peer Evaluation
50%	30% (10% each)	5%	10%	5%

Individual Progressive Evaluations – Closed Book (50%).

Each Module shall start with a pre-recorded and transcribed lecture on basic materials, followed by a Pre-assessment Quiz, that must be completed before the start of the modules, each pre-assessment quiz having 2% weightage in the course
Each Module shall end with a 30-minute in-class Post-Assessment Quiz (In-class) on the topics covered, each post-assessment quiz having 8% weightage in the course.
The scores in all pre-and post-assessment quizzes combined will contribute to 50% weightage in the overall course grade.

Group Work (50%: 30% lab module reports, 5% presentation, 10% term paper, 5% group evaluation).

Group Signup & Topic Selection: Including the group labs, 50% weightage in the course will be given to Group Activities. 6 Groups have been pre-assigned, each with 5 members. Each group will submit 3 choices in order of preference for their Group Topic from one of the five lecture modules or the optional module. Instructor will assign the group topics on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Group Lab Reports: There will be 3 lab module reports (each with 10% weightage in the overall course grade) due at the end of each lab-module, which must be uploaded in a pdf format by 5 pm as per dates highlighted in the Course Summary on Canvas. Each group is responsible to hand in only one copy of the report. A 10% per day late penalty will be applied to any late submission. Each report has specific requirements and criteria. Please read the instructions carefully at the end of each lab exercise. Observation of general laboratory rules and good lab practices is worth 10% marks for every lab session.
Group Presentation: Each group will deliver a 30-minute group lecture on recent advances in the field of the topic selected, having 5% weightage in the overall course grade. The presentations will be graded equally on the following rubric: a) quality of the delivery; b) ability to explain the concepts to other students; c) extent of information covered on the proposed topic; d) ability to answers questions and doubts from other students; e) quality of the ppt file submitted. Final lecture presentation must be uploaded as a .ppt/.pptx file on Canvas before 5pm on the day of lecture. The presentations will be made available to other students via Canvas for self-study for post-assessment quizzes.
Group Term Paper: Before the end of the course, each group will submit a term paper on the same topic as they made their group presentation, which will have 10% weightage in the overall course grade. The term paper should be about 8-10 type-written pages (Single 1.0 line spacing, Times New Roman, 12 pt font size) in length (excluding the references) and must include a 5-year SYSTEMATIC literature review on the topic and a critical analysis of the future directions and current approaches. The topic should be divided into major sub-headings to facilitate easy reading and understanding of the concept. Focus must be on generating original illustrations, figures and tables, with appropriate permissions from the source included in case of using their figure/tables. In the end, give full details of all citations (references) included in the text. The term paper will be graded equally on the following rubric: a) adherence to scientific writing fundamentals; b) extent of the literature review conducted; c) critical analysis of the literature; d) future outlook and conclusions presented and e) peer-evaluation. Term paper must be submitted before the last day of the class as a .doc/docx file on Canvas.
Group Peer Evaluation (5%): Each group member will rate other members on a scale of 0 to 5. Points recieved by each group member from their groupmates will have 5% weightage in the overall course grade. This makes group collaboration extremely critical.

Additional Notes

Academic accommodations will be made in accordance with university policies. Students requiring accommodations should notify the instructor as soon as possible.

Canvas Email is the recommended form of communication with the instructor.

The instructor reserves the right to deviate from the syllabus as needed. Students requesting an exception to the syllabus must submit the request via canvas email to the instructor.

Switching groups is not permitted in the course under ordinary circumstances, as teamwork is one of the core tenets of food processing industry and working in teams with diverse personalities and opinions is a core requirement for success in the food industry. Any extraordinary circumstances like bullying, harassment, or any other cause must be notified to the instructor for seeking accommodation. UBC has a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying and harassment.

Late Submissions will result in 10% deduction if late by less than 50 hours, and 20% deduction if late by more than 50 hours.

Canvas Quiz Responses will be screened for similarity to detect collaboration while attending the quizzes.

Term Papers and Lab Reports submitted will be screened for plagiarism through TurnItIn software.

Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct are serious offenses, and will result in a grade of F, and might result in report to the Dean for disciplinary action.