Ateneo - UPO

Concepts, strategies and tools related to Green Food Processing.
Overview of food industry by-products.
Consolidated and innovative “green” technologies applied to food processing.

Farid Chemat Eugene Vorobiev. Green Food Processing Techniques. Preservation, Transformation and Extraction. Academic Press, 2019.
Matteo Bordiga. Valorization of Wine Making By-Products. CRC Press, 2016.
Matteo Bordiga & Leo M.L. Nollet. Food Aroma Evolution – During food processing, cooking, and aging. CRC Press, 2019.

The didactic material will be provided by the Professor at the beginning and during the course.

The course aims to provide students with an overview of knowledge, current status and future perspectives of green chemistry applied to food processing, or in an eco-compatible way and in consideration of sustainable development, according to the principles of the so-called "Green Chemistry".

Required background knowledge: Fondamenti di Chimica generale e inorganica; Fondamenti di chimica organica e laboratorio.

During the course there will be lectures, group work, case studies.
Specific seminars may be organized in collaboration with professors and experts in the sector.
If the problems related to Covid-19 were to require it, the mode could undergo changes (e.g. streaming).

Considering the complexity of the issues and the considerable interest of industry and regulatory bodies in the topics of the course, the professor will try to deal with the case studies in a discursive way, deepening the most critical aspects relating to the issues, hoping for an interactive approach with the class. Questions or suggestions from students will be welcome, aimed at deepening the topics discussed in the classroom. The course foresees and requires students to study the topics through in-depth studies outside the scheduled teaching hours.

The exam of the course "MICROBIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES" will consist of three written tests relating to the three teaching units (modules) carried out on the same day and will last 2 hours and 30 minutes. The final evaluation will take place in a collegial way and shared between all the professors of the individual modules. The final grade will be calculated as an average weighted on the number of credits of each module of the course.
DESCRIPTION RELATING TO THE TEACHING UNIT “PROCESSI MICROBIOLOGICI, CHIMICI E BIOTECNOLOGI: CHIMICA E BIOTECNOLOGIE APPLICATE”. The exam consists of a written test consisting of 3 open-ended questions and 4 multiple-choice questions (with only one true answer). In particular, both the open-ended and multiple-choice questions will be aimed at assessing the knowledge and concepts acquired by the student and will be equally distributed on the main topics of the course.

ASSESSMENT METHOD The score attributed to each question will be specified in the exam text. Unanswered or incorrect open-ended or multiple-choice questions will be assigned a score of 0. The ability to answer open-ended questions using an appropriate technical-scientific language will also be assessed.

TIME AVAILABLE: 2 hours and 30 minutes.

GROUP ACTIVITIES For the activities carried out in groups, the attitude shown by the students within a team (which will be assigned an in-depth study on a specific topic) will be assessed. Finally, the ability to present the assigned topics will be assessed through a ppt presentation.

Green Food Processing: concepts, strategies and tools
Food industry by-products
High hydrostatic pressure
High pressure homogenization
Microwave technology
Ultrasound technology for processing, storage and extraction
Pulsed electric field (PEF)
Treatment with fluids under supercritical conditions (CO2)
Ozone technology
Ionizing radiations
Cold plasma
Enzymes and bioreactors (industrial applications)

This course aims to provide the basis for addressing the future developments of green chemistry in the food sector through the understanding of this concept and its development over the last twenty years, focusing on technology. At the end of the course, the student will have to demonstrate the acquisition of advanced and specific knowledge relating to the principles and technologies of the so-called Green Chemistry applied in the food sector. The student is expected to be able to use the acquired knowledge also in a productive context and to be able to evaluate which type of processes can be applied to reduce the environmental impact. Since some group activities will be favored during the course, at the end of the course it is expected that the student will have strengthened his aptitude for group work.