FPEN 204: Physical and Chemical Properties of Food

Objectives: To introduce students to the nature of foods and the engineering opportunities for converting them into high quality, shelf-stable products and to develop an understanding of basic techniques of food analysis.

Description: The course provides a classification of foods, and discusses the microstructure, chemistry and physical properties of food commodities in relation to process design and quality assessment. The importance of water in foods is emphasized and the influence of proteins structure and functionality in foods examined. Similarly, other food macromolecules including carbohydrates and lipids, their structure, functionality and reactions are explored. The importance of vitamins and minerals as well as application of enzymes in food processing are discussed. The course also highlights the relevance of flavour, colour, browning reactions, thermophysical properties of foods and the role of dispersed systems in food products.