Course Description
Provides an in-depth understanding of shelf life of packaged foods. Students will learn factors affecting shelf life and strategies for extending shelf life which include chemical and microbial kinetics to quantify food deteriorative reactions, mass transfer theories to quantify the movement of gases and vapors through the package, and development of predictive models.
Athena Title
Shelf Life of Packaged Foods
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Prerequisite
FDST 7020E or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, the students will be expected to know the following: - Definition of shelf life of food products - Use of chemical and microbiological kinetics to quantify rate of food deterioration and predict end of shelf life - Application of mass transfer principles and Arrhenius equation to quantify effects of packaging and distribution environment on shelf life of food products - Development and use of models for predicting shelf life of foods - Strategies to extend shelf life of foods - Performance of shelf life studies
Topical Outline
Applied concepts of shelf life of packages foods Term project Food Deterioration - Microbiological - Enzymatic - Biochemical - Physical Term project selection Preservation technology and shelf life - Hurdle technology Term project: preservation technologies Kinetics of microbiological food deterioration during storage Term project: deteriorative mechanisms Kinetics of food deterioration - Temperature effects Case study Term project: concept Vectors of biochemical food and beverage deterioration Package permeation/transmission and their measurement Package predictive modeling Term project: packaging alternatives General methods for predictive modeling Mid-term exam passed out Experimental methods for shelf life determination Accelerated testing procedures Case study Term project: shelf life measurement Mid-term exam due Contemporary issues Time-temperature integrators Term project: shelf life prediction - instrumental methods Modified atmosphere food preservation - Dynamics of gas environments Case study Term project: processing variables Final exam passed out Process optimization instrumental methods Term project: distribution variables Public policy/regulatory Term project: regulatory issues Term project rehearsal Term project presentation Final exam due
Syllabus