Chemistry and food quality (2008/2009)

Learning outcomes

The course deals with specific topics of food chemistry and quality, with special attention for food safety, a current issue important for both producers and consumers.
The different topics will be presented from a chemical and methodological point of view, with particular emphasis for modern approaches in the research field and for the dietary compounds that can negatively affect the consumers’ health.

• Carbohydrates: mono, oligo and poly –saccharides: nutritional, organoleptic and functional properties. Food hydrocolloids (starches, gums…). Reactions of carbohydrates. Maillard and Strecker reactions.
• Lipids: nutritional, organoleptic and functional properties. Lipids as emulsifiers. Lipid oxidation.
• Aminoacids, pepdides and proteins: nutritional, organoleptic and functional properties. Denaturation and degradation of proteins.
• Vitamins: classification. Importance for human health. Effects of technological processes on their stability.
• Food additives. Focus on preserving agents.
• Food contaminants and anti-nutritional/toxic compounds:
- Food allergens
- Plant lectins
- Enzymatic inhibitors (alpha-amylase inhibitors)
- Non-protein toxic compounds
- Heat treatment-deriving toxic compounds
- Chemical contamination: heavy metals and pesticides
- Biological contamination: mycotoxins

Oral