FPE-30306 Food Structuring

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

FPE-21306 Food Production and Preservation; FPE-20306 Food Engineering; FPE-20806 Mathematical Concepts for Food Technology.

Continuation courses:

FQD-60312 Product and Process Design; FPE-31306 Transfer Processes.

Contents:

A large number of food products can be described as complex products, which have to be structured in such a way that the product gets the right properties. During the course, you will learn about the existing production processes of those products and get understanding about the relevant underlying physics and chemistry. Also, transport phenomena inside the products will be studied. The product transformations will be quantified by making justified approximations of the product properties and the process. We will show how such approximations can be made. The product groups that will be thoroughly studied are emulsions containing oil and water, and soft solid materials containing biopolymers. At the end of the course, an outlook will be given into future trends and developments in the area of multi-phase products and related processes.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain current processes used for the production of a number of complex food products;
- explain the relevant physics related to those processes;
- design relevant processes for complex food products;
- explain the consequences of differences in chemical potential for transfer processes occurring inside the products;
- analyse the role of the chemical potential in multiphase products;
- assess future developments in complex food products and innovative process concepts.

Activities:

The concepts and methodologies will be presented in plenary lectures;
Students will train to apply the concepts during practical sessions (tutorials);
In addition, students will work in small groups (3-4) to investigate cases on the production of structured food products.

Examination:

The examination is a fully digital examination done on computers. It consists of 25 true/false questions and 40 four-choice questions, and the total allocated time is 2.5 h. The examination covers the whole course content, i.e., the topics discussed in lectures, tutorials and case studies. A formularium (list of symbols, abbreviations, and important equations) is provided. The students are allowed to have a simple (non-graphical) calculator.

Literature:

A reader will be available at the WUR-shop.
Additional information (slides, answers to exercises) will be provided through Blackboard.