This course provides an overview of the principles of nutritional science. This module covers descriptions and functions of nutrients (water, fats, carbohydrates and protein, vitamins and minerals), digestion and absorption, effects of deficiencies and toxicities, requirements throughout the life cycle, food sources, and nutrient interactions. These aspects underpin the areas of food science and nutrition that follow later on in the programme.
This module aims at equipping students with knowledge and skills in Food Processing and preservation under the major headings indicated here below:
- Food drying and thermal processing technologies
- Low temperature processing technologies
- Novel food processing technologies.
The module will cover different food processing and preservation techniques such as dehydration, heat processing, low temperature preservation and novel food processing technologies as well.
The study of process engineering is an attempt to combine all forms of physical processing into a small number of basic operations, which are called unit operations. Food process engineering can be defined as “the science of conceiving, calculating, designing, building, and running the facilities where the transformation processes of agricultural products, at the industrial level and as economically as possible, are carried out.”
Thus, an engineer in the food industry should know the basic principles of process engineering and be able to develop new production techniques for agricultural products. He should also be capable of designing the equipment to be used in a given process. The main objective of food process engineering is to study the principles and laws governing the physical, chemical, or biochemical stages of different processes, and the apparatus or equipment by which such stages are industrially carried out. The studies should be focused on the transformation processes of agricultural raw materials into final products, or on conservation of materials and products.