FST 1 - Principles of Food Science

To introduce students to the basic fundamentals of food science and underlying technology associated with providing a safe, nutritious, and abundant supply of fresh and processed foods to humans. Students are introduced to the nature and scope of the world food problem as well as the solutions that have been proposed. This is followed by an introduction to looking at foods and food systems in scientific terms and how understanding basic scientific principles explains how and why we process, prepare, and store foods for human consumption. Students will be introduced to how the food industry and regulatory agencies deal with potential health hazards associated with toxic chemicals and disease-causing organisms that can be present in foods, and how food preservation and processing can extend food availability from times of plenty to times of scarcity and from regions of surplus to regions of deficit.

TEXT USED: "On Food and Cooking", Harold McGee.

ENTRY LEVEL: Not open for credit to students who have completed courses 100A, 100B, or 111.

COURSE FORMAT:

1. Two lectures and one smaller discussion section per week.
2. Two announced midterm exams are given during the quarter, as well as a final examination.
   Weekly discussion and demonstration sections will be held to introduce students to unique properties associated with different commodity areas such as dairy, meats, fruits, vegetables, cereals, grains, etc. Demonstrations will also be held in the Food Processing Laboratory to illustrate the principles involved in drying, freezing, and canning technologies.

TOPICAL OUTLINE:

1. What is food science?
2. Food and agriculture: The politics of food from a global perspective.
3. The chemical nature of food.
4. The physical nature of food.
5. Food and humans: Nutritional and sensory considerations.
6. Food safety: Microbiological and toxicological considerations.
7. Food processing technologies.
8. Food laws and American culture.