Food chemistry and biochemistry

This unit will provide the technical basis of how scientific knowledge, innovation and research influences the food industry. This unit introduces the basis for understanding the chemical and biochemical composition of food and the proportions of different chemical classes in different categories of foods. It explores the differences and equivalence of food components, and their chemical reactivity and stability under physical and thermal stresses associated with processing and cooking. The unit seeks to understand the intersection of chemical, functional and nutritional properties and relationships with molecular classes, including their analysis. This unit develops your capacity to judge the susceptibility of raw foods, ingredients and ready-to-eat foods to physical and chemical change, according to food type, as affecting quality, flavour and risk of adverse contamination.

Teaching and learning will be strongly grounded in authentic, experiential and industry-reflective practice to prepare graduates for employment, and optionally for further research studies. Reflective practice will be used to develop a disposition for lifelong learning and critical examination of actions needed to understand technological and competitive drivers of success in the food industry. The teaching approach builds recognition on relevance of learned principles to immediate and subsequent outcomes, which improve personal and systematic competence. This Master core unit will use a multi-faceted approach to teaching delivery, emphasising exploratory and interactive elements and activities, such as blended learning, debate, scenario mapping, student-led seminars, collaborative peer learning, problem- and case- based projects, and workshops with leaders in industry and research.