Explore the undergraduate programmes and courses offered by the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, designed to provide students with strong foundations in nutrition, food science, health, and related fields.
The Department offers the following BSc programmes:
Credit Hours - 2
Course objective:
To aid students in appreciating the biochemical bases of diseases, diagnostic methods and processes used in some diseases, and the relevance of quality control in a clinical laboratory setting.
Course Content:
This course is designed to develop an understanding of the biochemical basis of disease, the metabolic and biochemical disturbances in acute/chronic disease, the diagnosis of disease and the methods used, and the processes involved in patient sample analysis and laboratory quality assurance. It is expected that students will understand how defective organ function or organ damage can lead to disease, and to appreciate the importance of clinical laboratory tests in the diagnosis of disease and the interpretation of the test results, as well as the relevance of quality assurance in a clinical laboratory setting.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with current knowledge on metabolic processes, regulation of metabolism, and the nervous and hormonal system
Course Content:
This course introduces students to the relationships between the metabolic processes in the cell and how they are regulated. The control of the pathways imposed by the nervous and hormonal system is introduced. The importance of the roles played by enzymes in metabolic pathways, particularly those enzymes involved in the control of the key metabolic steps (regulatory enzymes is highlighted. The characteristics and kinetic properties of these regulatory enzymes and the modes of regulation of their activities are discussed in detail with specific examples where possible. The regulation of the metabolism of some major biomolecules, e.g., carbohydrates, lipids and proteins, is covered.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objective:
To aid students in understanding biomolecules, energetics, and metabolism.
Course Content:
This course introduces students to two important principles of life: energetics and metabolism. The course looks at the basic reactions of molecules in the cell and how the cell maintains a steady supply of energy for its needs. It enables students to appreciate the molecular hierarchy in the cell. Topics to be covered include the flow of energy in the biosphere and the energy changes 52 associated with the reactions in the cell. The metabolism of the four major biomolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids) is covered.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with in-depth knowledge of enzymes and the role and process of enzymes in basic life.
Course Content:
This is an introductory course in enzymology and provides an opportunity for students to learn the basic concepts necessary to understand how simple catalysts and complex enzymes accelerate and regulate biological reactions. Topics covered include catalytic power, mechanism, specificity, kinetics, regulation, the purification and application of enzymes in industry, medicine, and agriculture.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge of the structure and functions of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and cell differentiation, and their application in plants and animals.
Course Content:
This course is an overview of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell structure and function, and important aspects of cell differentiation and development. Lectures focus on discussion of the cytoskeleton, organelle functions, and compartmentalization of cellular functions. Students will also be introduced to cell division, differentiation, and development in tissues of plants and animals.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objective:
To provide students with current knowledge on the structure and role of biomolecules and their influence in the human body, medicine, nutrition, agriculture, and other basic and applied sciences.
Course Content:
This course is designed to introduce students to the structure and function of the biomolecules in a cell. It provides students in the biological sciences a basic understanding of the molecular basis of life and prepares them to appreciate how processes at the molecular level influence our understanding of medicine, nutrition, agriculture, etc. Topics to be covered include the different cell types and their component organelles, elemental compositions of a cell, and the structure and function of the four major biomolecular types: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Course Objectives:
To help students gain a basic understanding of the human gut microbiota.
To provide students with an in-depth understanding of microbial communities and their impact on host health and disease.
To help students discover the latest academic insights and synergy between food fibers, added bacteria, probiotics, prebiotics, symbiosis, and the gut microbiota.
To provide students with up-to-date knowledge on the role of nutrition in gut microbiome development and health.
Course Content: This course seeks to increase knowledge and provide a foundation for understanding the synergy between gut microbial diversity, nutrition, and health. Students will appreciate the role of the gut microbiota and discover that while some microbiotas are harmful, most of them are needed for our survival. Topics have been divided into six main headings, namely introduction to the human gut microbiome, development of the human gut microbiota, modification of the human gut microbiota, the role of gut microbiota in nutrition and health, the gut microbiota and disease, and gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome.
Course Objective:
To aid students in understanding the major stages of human life, the role of nutrition and the environment on human growth and development, and the role of nutrition in body composition.
Course Content:
This is an introductory course which examines the major stages of human life - Prenatal, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood- and the biological and social changes occurring during these periods. Topics to be covered include: an introduction to stages of human life; effects of nutrition on growth and development, regulatory growth mechanisms, measurement of growth, reference standards in growth measurement; environmental factors affecting growth and development; and influence of nutrition on body composition. We will also discuss the concepts of energy balance and measurement, and adaptation to low energy intake by the human body.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with skills relevant to the principles of study design, assessment, and the factors that influence them.
Course Content:
This course covers the general principles of designing nutrition research and the techniques for laboratory and field data collection and analysis. Students will build skills in quality control procedures, including quality control charts for the laboratory, use of quality control charts to identify questionable data, and the monitoring of field data quality. Application of common computer software, including MS Access, Epi-Info, WHO Anthro, FPro, etc., in data analysis will be covered.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisites:
NUTN 401, NUTN 403
Course Objective:
To provide students with an understanding of the nutritional requirements, concerns at different life stages, including during emergencies, and the basis for these requirements.
Course Content:
This course looks at the nutritional requirements in pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, the aged, as well as in emergencies. The topics to be discussed include the relationship 48 between maternal diet and pregnancy outcomes; breastfeeding; nutrition of premature infants; complementary feeding; alternative feeding in special conditions; nutrition in emergencies; emergencies that threaten food security and nutrition; a historical perspective on where and when nutritional emergencies occur with reflection on the most nutritionally vulnerable groups during emergencies and types of responses to nutritional emergencies.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
NUTN 401, 403
Course Objective:
To provide students with a practical understanding of nutritional assessment of individuals and communities
Course Content:
This course deals with the identification of a community for needs assessment. This fieldwork includes community entry techniques, a transect walk, and the applications of rapid appraisal and observations in needs identification. A nutritional assessment protocol to collect information on dietary, biochemical, clinical, socio-economic, and anthropometric measures will be carried out in a chosen community. Interviewing skills, inter- and- intra personal relationships and working with people from diverse backgrounds and settings are incorporated in this course.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
NUTN 301. 302
Course Objective:
To expose students to the global trends of diet-related diseases as well as the role of nutrition in the prevention and management/treatment of some diseases.
Course Content:
This course offers in-depth knowledge on diet and diseases. It explains the use of diet in the management and/or as adjuncts to other therapeutic methods of diseases managements. It emphasizes the strength of the interactions between under- and over-consumption of nutrients in both long- and short-term health outcomes. The course also explains how diet is an indispensable tool in the management of other forms of diseases that are not necessarily linked to improper intakes of food, though it encompasses an array of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Areas covered include global trends of diet-related diseases, obesity and overweight, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, protein-energy malnutrition, dental health nutrition, eye and vision nutrition, peptic ulcers, gout, renal, cancer, diet and stress, interrelationship between diet, physical activity and non-communicable diseases.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
NUTN 301, 302
Course Objective:
To aid students in understanding the relationships between the individual nutrients in the diet, nutrient needs and assessment, as well as how other substances relate to the nutrients.
Course Content:
This course discusses the inter-relationships among the macro and micro-nutrients; anti-vitamins and anti-metabolites. It explains the concept of nutritional adaptation, principles and methods of determination of nutrient needs; proteins, amino acids, macro-minerals, trace elements, vitamins, fatty acids and fats. It involves laboratory practices on the techniques of determining nutrient needs and diagnosing nutrient deficiencies and balance studies.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To equip students with skills to analyse field data using WHO Anthro software and SPSS, as well as report writing.
Course Content:
This course deals with the analysis of data collected from a field survey. It involves the collection of dietary, biochemical, clinical, socio-economic, and anthropometric data using various computer software and laboratory techniques. It also explains techniques for analyzing both laboratory and field data as well as the preparation and writing of the field report.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisites:
NUTN 301-303
Course Objective:
Introduce students to the assessment of nutritional status and socio-economic status of individuals and groups in health and disease.
Course Content:
This course explains the indices used in assessing nutritional status of individuals and groups in health and disease: biochemical assessment, clinical and functional appraisal of nutritional status, and vital statistics. It involves a review of the principles for collecting socioeconomic information that influence nutrition and health at individual, household and community levels. It reviews 45 indicators for assessing socioeconomic status or position, how they are measured and analyzed in the context of nutrition and health outcomes.
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge and skills to plan and execute interventions and policies related to nutrition issues.
Course Content:
In this course, we discuss the various nutritional problems prevalent among different segments of the population, explore the importance of conceptual frameworks in understanding the causes of nutrition problems, and deliberate on various actions taken to address malnutrition, including supplementation, food-based strategies, and nutrition education. Other areas to be covered include the role of national and international organizations in combating hunger and malnutrition, nutrition in emergency situations, types of Food and Nutrition Policies (FNP), food importation and prices, income and quality of life as well as economic factors would be studied. Additionally, the course reviews formulation of food and nutrition policies and issues relating to food importation and prices.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge and skills of dietary assessment methods as part of the evaluation of the nutritional status of individuals and groups.
Course Content:
This course entails the assessment of the nutritional status of groups and individuals using anthropometry. It involves the assessment of body size and composition using a variety of techniques, advantages and limitations of the various methods used for assessing nutritional status as well as the evaluation and interpretation of anthropometric measurements and indices for individuals and populations. It also discusses basic anthropometric techniques, their applications and reference standard.
Credit Hours - 6
Course Objective:
To guide students through the scientific process of research on an issue related to nutrition.
Course Content:
This is a supervised individual investigation on any topical issue that directly or indirectly impacts nutrition. A written project report in the form of a dissertation would be required for assessment and grading. A minimum of 13 hours of contact with the supervisor is an essential part of this course.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To help students understand the social, cultural, and economic factors that influence food acquisition, preparation, and consumption of food across the world, and how food choices affect nutrition through the life cycle.
Course Content:
This is an overview of the socio-cultural factors that influence food acquisition, preparation, and consumption across the world. The topics to be discussed include population growth and resources; social and economic factors that determine food choices; the effects of globalization, westernization and urbanization on food choices and associated nutritional implications; food classifications; food proscriptions and prohibitions within the context of their nutritional implications for different demographic groups, particularly women and children; and food fads and diets.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objective:
To mentor and provide students with career-ready skills such as searching and documentation of credible information, writing, and public speaking.
Course Content:
This course requires that students are attached to a Senior Member for supervised independent study. During the period, students are trained in literature search and information gathering, writing, and speaking skills. It involves the presentation of a literature review on a given topic at a seminar. A term paper and regular attendance at department seminars are also required.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with skills to conduct research with animal models for human nutrition studies.
Course Content:
This course discusses problems with human experimentation; advantages of animal experimentation; concerned societies and standards for animal experimentation; species of experimental animals and the experimental rat and disease. It discusses physical facilities for rat experimentation in Nutrition; rat models for human nutrition studies; the effect of feeding different levels of nutrients, e.g., iron, protein; nitrogen balance; digestibility, as well as the effect of diet on body functions.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To build students’ knowledge in the research process in the field of nutrition.
Course Content:
This course explains research ethics and the work of the institutional review board (IRB). It covers a review of field research designs and approaches, research language and the research process within quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research approaches. Through individual and group assignments, students get the opportunity to put into practice some of the topics addressed in class. It also discusses some laboratory methods used in nutrition research including fluorometry, amino acid analysis, and automated haematology.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To guide students to have an appreciation for the multidimensionality of nutrition issues and linkages between nutrition and other disciplines.
Course Content:
This interactive course is designed to enhance students’ awareness of the multifaceted nature of nutrition problems and the need for holistic approaches both to research and address them. The course reviews the UNICEF malnutrition framework (MF) within the context of livelihoods frameworks (LF) to demonstrate the linkages between health, nutrition, and agricultural disciplines. The role of qualitative research methods, extension principles and behaviour change theories in diagnosing and addressing household/community nutrition problems will be discussed with reference to the MF and LF. An important objective of the course is to guide students to have an appreciation for the multidimensionality of nutrition issues and understand the linkages between nutrition and other disciplines, particularly agriculture.
Credit Hours - 1
Prerequisites:
NUTN 301, 302
Course Objective:
To provide students with skills and knowledge such as proximate analysis and related techniques used in the analysis of food, as well as the various sampling techniques, analytical methods, and reporting and presentation of data.
Course Content:
This course deals with the development, application and study of analytical procedures for characterizing the properties of foods and their constituents. These analytical procedures (comparative moisture analysis, ash, crude fat, crude protein and crude fibre analysis, energy, vitamin and mineral content of foods) are used to provide information about a wide variety of different characteristics of foods, including their composition, structure, physicochemical properties and sensory attributes. It helps students with understanding on how to select the appropriate analytical technique, sampling and sample preparation, glassware for laboratory analysis, precision and accuracy, data reporting and report write-up.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objective:
To engage students in knowledge and laboratory skills related to the physiology of the digestive and urinary systems and blood, which forms the basis of nutrition and health.
Course Content:
This course entails studies of the body systems associated with the delivery of food to the body, the structure of the digestive system in relation to its functions in digestion and absorption. It also discusses blood physiology: blood and other fluid compartments of the body in relation to 39 the transfer of nutrients and metabolites, cellular components of blood and excretion. It includes laboratory experiments to illustrate the principles and techniques used in nutritional physiology - digestive system, blood physiology, normal and abnormal components of urine. The laboratory aspect accompanies the lectures in Nutritional Physiology.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
NUTN 301
Course Objective:
To introduce students to the micro- and macro-minerals and vitamins important to human nutrition.
Course content:
This course is intended to build students’ knowledge and understanding of minerals and vitamins in human health and nutrition. Areas covered include functions and distribution of minerals in the human body; dietary sources, deficiency symptoms, and human requirements for minerals; role of trace elements in human nutrition and their requirements; landmarks in the discovery of vitamins; and functions, metabolism, recommended intakes, dietary sources, and effects of deficiencies of fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with in-depth knowledge of the metabolic and physiological functions of macronutrients, integrating the effects of nutritional status in health and disease.
Course content:
This course deals with the fundamental concepts related to macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein and lipid) structure, physiological function and metabolism. It also covers the metabolic and functions of nutrients, integrating the effects of nutritional status in health and disease, food as a source of energy, energy expenditure, measurement and factors influencing energy expenditure. Other topics covered include carbohydrate, protein and fat inter-relationships in meeting energy requirements, and their implications for health.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objective:
To engage students in experiential learning in the field of Nutrition.
Course Content:
This is a 6-week practical attachment to an organization or projects that work on nutrition related issues. The chosen organization must be approved by the department. The student is visited at least once to aid in the evaluation. A written report is submitted for evaluation by the student. This is usually done during the long vacation.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge of organ systems and their functions and the physiological processes of the human body systems.
Course Content:
This course is to introduce the student to the physiology of organs and how they work. The course encompasses the various systems such as digestion, excretion, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, as well as the circulatory networks that are required for the physiologic function of the body.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To equip students with knowledge of anatomical terminology, identification, and the physiological processes of the human body systems.
Course Content:
This course is to introduce the student to the general structure and functions of the normal human body. The course covers the general structure of the body, its basic needs and associated systems, the structures involved in movement of the body as well as the systems that maintain the internal environment. Additionally, it delves into the physiological processes involved in maintenance of the internal environment.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To introduce students to the different concepts of nutrition, the importance of nutrition, and the effect of nutrient intake on everyday life.
Course Content:
This course discusses pre-scientific ideas about foods, including the investigation of carbohydrates, fats, and albuminous substances; food utilization, experiments with gelatin; pioneers in nutrition; animal nutrition; respiration and calorimetry; chemical analysis of foods; the discovery of vitamins; inorganic elements; and fatty acids. Topics to be discussed include the definitions for nutrition, nutritional science, nutrition professionals (Nutritionists, Dieticians, Food Scientists, etc.), nutrition and health; foods and food values, levels of nutritional status, factors influencing food choices, undernutrition and overnutrition. It also covers the double burden of disease, nutritional problems in Ghana, assessing nutritional adequacy of diets, nutrition in eating disorders, nutrition for exercise and sports performance, nutrition guidelines for health promotion as well as plant-based diets.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with an understanding on the various forms of nutrients, its sources and the role of nutrition in health.
Course Content:
This course deals with the major nutrients in foods and their food values. It explains the various constituents that make up macro and micro-nutrients. These nutrients include carbohydrate, proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. It also discusses the importance of breastfeeding in infant nutrition; food sources of nutrients, food habits; nutrition and disease; population growth, food production and nutritional status.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objectives:
To provide in-depth knowledge on food additives and their technological functions
The student will gain an understanding of fundamental principles of toxicology and management of toxicants in foods
Course Content:
This course covers the definition and classes of food additives used in the food processing industry. It explains the benefits and risks, including direct and indirect risks; International numbering schemes; objectives of use of additives; functional classes of food additives; principles guiding use and non-use of additives; regulation and control of additives; as well as the chemistry and properties of additives. Fundamentals of toxicology as well as their mode of action are also covered. Explanation on the current methodologies in toxicological studies and examination, and the classification and sources of toxicants are expounded, followed by risk analysis and risk management of toxic substances in foods.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objective:
To provide students with training in writing and communication skills opportunity to undertake independent study related to a topic of interest.
Course Content:
This course is designed to provide students with success skills needed to transition to the world of work. It involves training in writing and communication skills. Topics to be covered include oral and written communication, effective oral presentation and report writing. Work ethics would be learnt through structured interaction with industry. In addition, students may also be attached to a Senior Member for supervised independent study related to a topic of their interest. Attendance at public lectures and/or seminars as well as student presentations form part of the course requirements. Students are continuously assessed. Students who have taken FOSC 310 cannot take this course.
Credit Hours - 1
Prerequisites:
FOSC 409,407
Course Objective:
To provide students with understanding and opportunity to use common industrial and traditional method to process food commodities.
Course Content:
This is course deals with the processing of various food commodities - cereals, legumes, roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables, oil seeds, fish, meat and dairy. It involves practical in the laboratory, which is aimed at providing understanding of the common industrial processes such as breadmaking, yoghurt processing, jam making, meat processing into ham and sausage, as well as improvement of traditional food processing technologies such as gari, dawadawa and koobi processing. It includes an introduction to equipment handling for food processing. It also involves industrial visits to small-scale as well as multinational large-scale food processing industries.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide an understanding of the processing technologies and how to enhance the quality of animal food commodities.
Course Content:
This course provides an overview of the various animal products available for human consumption. It explains those that are consumed in the raw state, those processed to enhance the eating quality, extend shelf life and provide variety in the diet. It also covers various processing technologies that are used to convert raw animal produce to the myriad different products available on the market. Students are also provided with basic knowledge of the physical, chemical and other quality characteristics of dairy products, eggs, fish and meat which affect their utilization and the technologies involved in processing and preservation of these animal-based products.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide in-depth knowledge on the types of industrial microorganisms used in food product development and principles involved of industrial fermentation processes.
Course Content:
This course deals with the principles involved in industrial applications of microbiology. It covers topics such as types of industrial microorganisms and their practical application in the development of food product. Products of industrial interest are selected and studied. Students are also taken through the principles involved of industrial fermentation processes, chemical and microbiological changes occurring during industrial fermentation, typical processes of industrial fermentation and production of African fermented foods.
Credit Hours - 3
Prerequisite:
FOSC 308
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge on characteristics of plant food commodities and processing and preservation techniques that can be used to enhance their shelf life.
Course Content:
This course deals with plant food sources that are commonly used in the traditional food systems. It covers perishable crops that need processing to preserve them or offer different products for variety. The course also introduces students to the physical, chemical and other quality characteristics of cereals, legumes, roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables, spices and oil seeds. Primary and secondary processing and preservation techniques used for plant food commodities are covered.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide an understanding of food product development and the economics of product development and marketing issues.
Course Content:
This course provides an understanding of the sequence of events leading to food product development from concept to product launch. It explains prototype development, product optimization and testing as well as logistics for product development. Other topics covered include economics of product development and marketing issues. It also involves the integration and application of the basic concepts as well as the principles of food science and technology. It 30 also allows students to bring their knowledge to bear on the conceptualization of new food products. As part of the course students will be required to submit a written report on a new food product.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
FOSC 305
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge on basic sensory characteristics of foods and how sensory test can be assessed.
Course Content:
In this course, students are introduced to the principles, theory and application of sensory testing in food research and industry. The senses and basic sensory characteristics (aroma, taste and texture) of food are discussed. Organization of sensory evaluation facilities, factors to consider when setting up sensory tests and the choice of tests are explained. The topics taught include the main types of sensory tests; discrimination, descriptive and consumer testing, methods, applications and limitations as well as analysis of sensory data and reporting sensory tests. Application of sensory evaluation in the food industry is also discussed.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objectives:
To provide students with an insight into the principles governing the processes for managing the quality of food along the food value chain and equip them with the ability to practice quality assurance in the food industry
To introduce national and international food laws and regulations including the Ghana Food and Drugs Policy, food control systems and food standards and show how they influence national and international food trade.
Students will also learn about the significance of international food regulatory agencies such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the role they play in assuring global food quality will also be discussed.
Course Content:
This course discusses the principles of quality control, quality assurance and introduction to total quality management, food quality and food safety management systems. It covers organization of food industry quality programmes; quality characteristics of foods and their measurements; sampling and sampling plans for quality control; statistical quality control processes and procedures including reporting and recording. It provides an overview of food laws and regulations, food control systems and food standards at the national and international levels. It covers the Ghana Food and Drugs Policy, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other international food regulatory agencies and how they influence national and international food trade. It also deals with the legal issues in food science and technology.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objectives:
The course seeks to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to be able to provide packaging solutions suitable for fulfilling the basic functions of food packaging, prolong shelf-life and promote the marketing of food products.
Course Content:
This course gives an overview of food packaging as well as the basic principles and technologies 28 of development of packaging materials, their conversion to packages and use for different food products would be covered in this course. Specific topics to be discussed include the rationale and forms of food packaging, structure, properties, functionality and conversion processes of plastics, paper-based, glass and metal food packaging materials. It also discusses the relationship of packaging to preservation and shelf life of foods, choice of packaging applications for specific food commodities, recent developments in packaging as well as labelling, safety and environmental issues in relation to food packaging.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objectives:
The course will provide an overview of the food industry and introduce students to the principles of plant design and layout, food safety audit, sanitary equipment, occupational health and safety principles in a food factory and food safety systems. • To equip students with sufficient information and skills to do a critical appraisal of food safety systems and sanitation operations in food processing sites.
Course Content:
This course provides a detailed understanding of the principles and practices of the organization and management of plant operations in the food processing industry. It covers a wide range of topics including plant lay-out and flow patterns, plant and warehouse siting and design, pilot operations and optimization, cleaning operations, use of detergents and sanitizers, water use, waste disposal and pollution control. It explains the Public Health Acts and Regulations as well as environmental issues in food processing. Students are given the opportunity for two industrial visits.
Credit Hours - 3
Prerequisite:
FOSC 301, 302, NUTN 304
Course Objectives:
To provide knowledge on major components of food materials and the principles of analytical methods used to analyze specific food components.
To provide students with skills and techniques needed for food analysis and demonstrate effective sampling techniques and reporting of analytical data
Course Content:
This course deals with food analysis and laboratory practice. It involves chemical, physical, and microscopy techniques for the analysis of food products. It will discuss sampling methods, reporting of analytical data, and the use of official methods of food analysis. Issues relating to the appreciation of the principles of analytical techniques for moisture, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates (simple sugars, starch, etc.) will be discussed. As well, the principles of color analysis of foods; chromameters; chemical analysis of water quality; instrumental methods of food analysis and applications of spectroscopy will be discussed. The course will also cover the principles and applications of separation methods in food analyses, chromatography (liquid and gas) and electrophoresis techniques.
Credit Hours - 6
Course Objective:
To provide students with an opportunity to undertake scientific research under supervision in food science and related issues.
Course Content:
Individual research on relevant topics of interest in food science and technology conducted under the supervision of an academic staff member. A written project report in the form of a dissertation would be required, assessed and graded.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objectives:
To present students with the opportunity to extend their repertoire of personal and professional skills by learning and practicing the success skills needed to make a difference in their future professional life and give them a career advantage. The approach to teaching used in this course is designed to help students not only improve their oral and written communication skills but also improve their self-confidence and be able to work effectively in teams.
Course Content:
This course is designed to provide students with success skills needed to transition to the world of work. There will be training in writing and speaking skills. Topics to be covered include oral and written communication, effective oral presentation and report writing. Work ethics would be learnt through structured interaction with industry. Attendance at public lectures and/or seminars as well as student presentations form part of the course requirements. Students are continuously assessed.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objectives:
To enable students to understand the biology and physiological condition of food commodities.
To enable students to identify the causes of deterioration of harvested food commodities.
To enable students to broaden understanding of procedures of harvesting, preparation, packaging, transportation, and storage.
To enable students to relate biological principles to general commodity requirements and responses to reduce losses.
Course Content:
The course introduces students to the biology and physiological status of food commodities. It provides students with an understanding on the causes of postharvest losses. As well, provides detailed 25 understanding of the post-harvest system, including procedures of harvesting, preparation, packaging, transportation, and storage in relation to biological principles and general commodity requirements to reduce losses. Other important topics covered include the physiology and biochemistry of harvested produce, causes of deterioration in perishables and durables as well factors that promote these deteriorations and their control. It also includes field visits and evaluations.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide knowledge on cocoa and chocolate processing and sugar processing technology
Course Content:
This course develops an understanding of the science and technology of cocoa production and processing as well as chocolate manufacture. It explains the chemistry, processing and manufacturing operations of cocoa and chocolate in the industry. Topics covered include the history, botany and classification of cocoa, description and chemistry of cocoa pods and fruits, cocoa cultivation and practices, pests and diseases, post-harvest treatments – pod breaking, fermentation, curing processes and drying, fermentation methods, biochemical and microbial changes during fermentation, cocoa processing, chemistry and technology of roasting, manufacture of liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder, chocolate processing technology – mixing, refining, conching, tempering, moulding and demoulding, measurement of chocolate quality, defects occurring during chocolate handling and storage. It also covers the science and technology of tea and coffee processing as well as sugar processing technology. Students are sent for two industrial visits on familiarization tours.
Credit Hours - 3
Prerequisite:
FOSC 202, 304
Course Objectives:
To enable students, learn about the procedures associated with various forms of heat sterilization and pasteurization processes as means of food preservation.
Students will also learn about the importance of the process parameters associated with these processes and how to calculate them.
Additionally, they will learn about the process equipment and how to package and deliver safe and quality food products using these processes.
Course Content:
This course provides an overview of the history of canning technology as well as the basis of the canning process and principles of canning technology. It covers topics such as sterilization systems and pasteurization, as well as equipment and containers for thermal processing of foods. It also deals with aseptic processing - principles and applications; microwave heating of foods principles, operations, and industrial applications; manufacturing operations - raw material preparation to warehousing. It has a practical aspect that deals with thermal processing equipment, design operations and safety factors; laboratory exercises in canning, pasteurization and aseptic processes; evaluation of the quality of thermal processed foods and seam analysis. It covers the application of thermal processing to selected food commodities, and students are sent for two industrial visits on familiarization tours.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To provide students with the skills and opportunity to use analytical methods for data analysis and presentation.
Course Content:
This introductory course in statistics for nutrition and food science students covers several basic concepts in statistics and introduces students to several of the most common statistical methods used or encountered in nutrition and food science. It is intended to help students develop the skills to practice these concepts and methods. The course emphasizes the application of computers in analyzing and presenting data, as opposed to the use of mathematical formulas and manual calculations or procedures. The first part of the course covers the basic concepts, the second part covers descriptive statistics, and third part covers inferential statistics and hypothesis testing. Specific topics to be covered include: statistical concepts; descriptive statistics; common assumption for statistical tests; Student’s t-test (paired and unpaired), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Chi-squared test, and Correlation.
Credit Hours - 3
Prerequisite:
FOSC 204
Course Objective:
To provide students with the knowledge and understanding of the principles and applications of unit operations in food processing and preservation
Course Content:
This course discusses physical phenomena in food processing operations. The topics covered include dehydration - introduction, drying rate theory; psychrometry; Heat transfer in drying, equipment; chilling and freezing - theory and applications; equipment; Evaporation - theory and 22 applications, equipment, single and multiple effects evaporators, industrial applications; membrane separation: theory and application of Osmosis, Reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration in the food industry. It also discusses extraction theory and applications; extrusion – theory, equipment and operation, applications in food processing; irradiation - theory, equipment and operation, applications in food processing. Some of the traditional and modern applications of unit operations in food processing including agglomeration, baking, high pressure processing and microwave applications are covered.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objective:
To teach the fundamentals of food and water microbiology and food safety. Students will learn about microorganisms, how they can be controlled, their importance in food and water and how to isolate, enumerate and identify them in foods.
Course Content:
The course builds on the knowledge from the General microbiology course (FOSC 202) and it specifically presents the fundamentals of food and water microbiology and food safety. It treats the microbial ecology of foods considering food as a microbial ecosystem. The sources and types of microorganisms in various food commodities, the growth and survival of microorganisms in foods, the factors which affect survival and growth and the impacts of microbial survival and growth are all covered. Also, the microbial basis of food processing methods which control the three main impacts, namely food spoilage, food transformation (fermentation and bio preservation) and food-borne diseases, are treated. The course also considers food management practices that address the microbiological quality of foods (including GMPs, HACCPS and some ISO standards). The epidemiology and control of food-borne diseases are also treated. The course has a laboratory component which considers the methods for the microbiological examination of foods.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
CHEM 217, 233, 234
Course Objective:
To provide in-depth understanding on the structure and functions of macronutrients in foods
Course Content:
This course deals with the chemistry and functionality of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids as well as the effect of processing on these chemical constituents. Some of the topics taught include enzymes in food processing; polysaccharides, properties, solubility, hydrolysis and gelation. It also discusses starch characteristics and pasting properties, amino acids, peptides, protein structure and function, agents of protein denaturation, functional properties of food proteins, enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning reactions. As well, it reviews topics relating to milk proteins, the casein structure and gelation, wheat proteins and the chemistry of dough formation, fatty acids, acyl glyceride; crystal structure of lipids, transesterification, auto-oxidation of oils, chemistry of deep fat frying; and water in foods.
Credit Hours - 2
Prerequisite:
CHEM 217, 233, 234
Course Objective:
To provide students with knowledge of water and its effects on food storage and stability.
Course Content:
This course provides an understanding of the chemistry of water, freezing, and its effects on food quality. Other topics treated include water activity, sorption isotherms, and food storage and stability. It also reviews the basic chemistry of alkanes and alkenes, chirality, as well as simple sugars, their structures, properties, and reactions. The chemistry and application of food pigments and flavour components are also discussed.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objective:
To provide students with the opportunity to work under supervision in a food processing industry or food science-related organization.
Course Content:
This course entails a supervised 6-week (minimum) attachment to a food processing industry, food-related research or regulatory organization, non-governmental organization, or projects. It is intended to help students familiarize themselves with the processing procedures and to gain industrial insight into the different food processing applications that are taught in the various food science courses. A written report must be submitted for assessment.
Credit Hours - 3
Prerequisite:
CHEM 217, FOSC 201
Course Objectives:
Course Content:
This course provides an overview of the laws of conservation of mass and energy and concepts of materials and energy balance in food processing. It entails topics such as types of process situations (continuous versus batch); transport phenomena - theory and applications of fluid flow, and measurements of pressure in fluids, pumps and fans. It also discusses heat transfer theory and applications and equipment; heat exchangers; cold storage: refrigeration and chilling; mechanical operations - size reduction of solid and liquid foods, theory, applications and equipment; effects on physicochemical properties foods; mechanical separation - centrifugation, filtration, expression, sieving; mixing - mixing of liquids and solids, effect of mixing on functionality of foods. Industrial visits are made to allow students familiarize with the real applications of the different unit operations studied.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objectives:
Course Content: The course provides an understanding of the basic principles of microbiology as well as the medical, agricultural, and other applied aspects of the field of microbiology. It covers the structure, growth, nutrition, metabolism, genetics and diversity of microorganisms and methods used to study microorganisms, including safe handling, cultivation techniques, microscopy and other microbial identification methods. The laboratory aspects deal with the basic laboratory skills of microbiology including techniques of sampling and isolation of bacteria from natural environments, safe handling and growing pure cultures of microorganisms, diluting, pipetting and enumerating microorganisms, microscopic techniques for identification of microbes as well as recording, interpretation and reporting of microbiological data.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objectives:
Course Content:
The course is an introduction to the basic principles and practice of Food Science and Technology and provides an understanding of how agricultural commodities are converted into consumer products. The course discusses food constituents and their importance in food systems. As well, it provides a comprehensive review of the biological and chemical concepts that are important in Food Science and the integration of knowledge from several traditional disciplines to solve today's food problems. It explains the chemical, physical, and biological properties of foods that affect their keeping quality, nutritional and organoleptic values, and methods used to preserve food.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objective:
To provide students with practical experience on the identification of the morphological structures of diverse plants, from microscopic species to more complex multicellular plants. To provide students with the skills to illustrate structures using biological drawing techniques.
Course Content:
This course is designed to give students practical understanding of Plant diversity, morphology and functions. Students will study morphological characteristics of unicellular through microscopy. Through field and laboratory studies students will observe life specimens of various forms of plants. Students will also be given the training in biological drawing techniques.
Credit Hours - 2
Course Objective:
To equip students with knowledge on plant life forms from different domains and their characteristics and diversity.
Course Content:
The course is designed to introduce students to the various plant life forms. The course begins with an overview of the following domains of life: archaea, bacteria and eukaryote and then discusses the diversity and general characteristics of plants. It will also examine the evolutionary relationship between these groups of organisms. An overview of lower plant forms will be introduced.
Credit Hours - 1
Course Objective:
To provide students with an understanding of the principles of biochemistry in everyday life and to appreciate the scientific and medical applications of biochemistry.
Course Content:
This course introduces students to the fascinating science of Biochemistry and its applications in the fields of medicine, agriculture and everyday life. It is taught by many faculty members of the department, each focusing on a specific area of the science and its application.
Credit Hours - 3
Course Objective:
To provide students with in-depth knowledge of the diversity and physiology of major phyla of invertebrates.
Course Content:
This course covers the major phyla of invertebrates. It explores the diverse characteristics and differences in physiology and life cycles among invertebrates. Features that enable us to classify these groups of animals are emphasized. The distribution and rich variety of ways in which living organisms cope with the problems of survival and reproduction in diverse environments are also discussed. Practical sessions are tailored to throw more light on the theoretical information.