Food Science and Nutrition Spring 2023 Course Descriptions

There are no prerequisites. Members of all departments are encouraged to apply.

FdSN 410: Food plant operations is a brand new course (CRN: 52648 for the in-class version and CRN: 52649) for spring 2023.  This new course is a valid elective course for all the graduate students enrolled in “food safety and technology” or “food process engineering” degree programs.

FDSN 410
Food Plant Operations
The food processing line types for the major food and beverage manufacturing segments are reviewed as integrated systems. The unit operations specific to each of the dairy, meat, poultry, seafood, juice, bakery and produce industries are reviewed. Students will each draft their own virtual commercial plant layout using vendor equipment specifications with principles of mass balance of material inputs and outputs. Industry guest speakers and trips to local food plants will provide real-world exposure to current manufacturing issues. Principles of plant layout for Good Manufacturing Practices, sanitation, and material flow through the plant will be highlighted. Trends in digitalization of the food plant and plant operations using Industry 4.0 concepts will be discussed.
LECTURE: 3 LAB: 0 CREDITS: 3

CRN 52645           FDSN 311             Food Analysis and Properties

FDSN 311
Food Analysis and Properties
In this course students will learn about the physical and chemical properties of foods that can be instrumentally measured as a means to derive product and ingredient specifications. Such measurements enable the food industry to define foods on an objective basis and meet regulatory requirements for food labeling. Properties such as color, acidity, total solids, viscosity, water activity, particle size and moisture content will be demonstrated in a hands-on lab experience setting. This course will also cover the types of instrumentation used for nutritional label contents (protein, fat, sugars, salt etc.) versus that used for research purposes and trouble-shooting for product design issues.
LECTURE: 2 LAB: 1 CREDITS: 3

CRN 52646           FDSN 314             Sustainable Food Systems

FDSN 314
Sustainable Food Systems
This course is designed to give students an appreciation of the complex intersections and relationships among food and culture, economics, the environment, labor, policy, population health, and social justice. Students will have opportunities to work on projects that model and analyze these relationships, and consider trade-offs impacting production and consumption, global nutrition and health, scarcity in resources, and more. Students will visit urban and rural farms, introduced to alternative farming techniques and their challenges, how sustainability is measured and reported in the food and related industries.
LECTURE: 3 LAB: 0 CREDITS: 3
SATISFIES: Communications (C)

CRN 52296           FDSN 316             Cultural Foods with Lab

FDSN 316
Cultural Foods with Lab
This course examines the regional, ethnic, cultural, religious, historical and social influences on food patterns and cuisine. Students will study cultural food and nutrition principles related to the following topics: Food as identity and food in social organization; Evolutionary and revolutionary developments in food and cuisine; Food as spectacle; Food technology in non-industrialized and industrialized food systems; Food and health: political inputs and obesity; Food branding and marketing; Food in world religions; Global hunger: root causes and proposed solutions; Hunger in America; and Food and social change.
LECTURE: 2 LAB: 1 CREDITS: 3

CRN 52650           FDSN 420             US Food Safety Regulatory Systems

FDSN 420
US Food Safety Regulatory Systems
This course gives a broad overview of the food safety regulatory systems in the US. It will cover the roles of FDA, USDA, EPA, CDC, DoC in regulating the production and sale of food. Regulations covered include Low Acid Canned Foods, HACCP, dietary supplements, infant formula, food additives and packaging, and the six parts of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
LECTURE: 3 LAB: 0 CREDITS: 3