Food Chemistry

This subject is not offered in 2013.

120 hours

Eligibility for honours or postgraduate coursework program.

Chemistry and/or biology or equivalent background

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

The aim of this subject is to provide students with an understanding of the chemical structure of major and minor food components (natural materials of plant and animal origin plus additives). The fate of these components in terms of their biological (enzymatic) and chemical degradation when consumed and modification during food processing is explored.
This course is supported by a practical laboratory program, which emphasizes modern and instrumental techniques.

• describe the structure, composition, nutritional and functional properties of food components
• identify the influence of storage, processing and manufacture on the properties of food and its components
• have a practical understanding of the chemical analyses used to identify and quantify food components

• 1 assignment of 3000 words (20%), (due mid-way through the semester)
• 1 written laboratory report (20%) (due at the end of semester)
• 3 hour written final examination (60%)

Principles of Food Chemistry 3 rd Ed (1999), John deMan, Aspen Publishers, Inc

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Upon completion of this unit, students should have developed:

• a profound respect for truth, intellectual and professional integrity, and the ethics of scholarship
• capacity for independent critical thought, rational inquiry and self-directed learning and research
• an ability to drive, interpret and analyse social, technical or economic information from multiple sources
• skills in observation, critical analysis and report writing.