754341 Food chemistry practical course

Type
Exercise course
Semester hours
4
Lecturer (assistant)
Nerger, Sara , Fink, Simon , Loh, Tanja , Schreiner, Matthias , Mayer-Buchegger, Valentina , Mayer, Helmut , Van Den Oever, Sabrina
Organisation
Offered in
Wintersemester 2024/25
Languages of instruction
Deutsch
Content

Small groups of students will perform the analyses of food samples regarding relevant parameters (e.g., meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, egg, cereals, soy beans, etc.). Various aspects of food chemistry are to be used (e.g., water content using an oven method; fatty acid profile by GC; cholesterol by enzymatic test; protein analysis using electrophoresis and/or PCR).

1. Pysico-chemical parameters:
Dry mass and water content(e.g., oven methods, IR)
Fat content(e.g., Soxhlet, Mojonnier, extraction with supercritical CO2)
Fat charcterization(e.g., Jodine number, peroxide index)
Protein content(z.B. Kjeldahl, dye binding methods)
Carbohydrate content(z.B. dye reactions, reducing sugars)
Ash content(z.B. oven method)
Density(z.B. Spindle)
Freezing point(z.B. Cryoscope)

2. Chromatography (GLC, HPLC, TLC) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy:
Fatty acid profiles
Triglycerides
Phospholipides
Vitamines
Amino acids
Peptide mapping
Carbohydrates
Minerals

3. Enzymatic tests:
Ascorbic acid
Organic acids
Sugars
Starch
Amino acids
Urea
Cholesterol

4. Electrophorsis and Molecular biology
Protein profiles (e.g., meat, milk, egg, cereal or soya products)
Isoenzym patterns
Species identification, assessment of origin (z.B. meat and dairy products)
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Previous knowledge expected

Basic knowledge in chemical and food chemistry laboratory (e.g., accurate pipetting with micropipettes and graduated pipettes; handling of analytical balances; principle and operation of photometers) as well as understanding of the fundamental aspects of "laboratory safety" (e.g., safe handling of chemicals, cleanliness and order, to avoid endangering persons in the chemical laboratory) !!!
==> If these prerequisites are not fulfilled, a safe and efficient work in this Practical Course is definitely NOT possible !!!
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Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

After having successfully completed this practical course, students will be familiar with the principles of chemical food analyses, and are able to apply this knowledge in practice. They learn to apply selected practical analytical procedures and methods. They know classical methods (e.g., Kjeldahl, Soxhlet, oven methods, and photometry) as well as modern techniques (e.g., chromatography, AAS, electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction) that are used to analyse the gross food composition (e.g., dry mass, protein, fat, carbohydrates, ash, mineral, vitamins) and to study special food relevant topics. Students will have good knowledge and competence in the area of chemical food analysis, and will be able to use these skills in testing and assessment of foods.
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You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.