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Chemistry and Technology of Food

Code 15948
Year 1
Semester S2
ECTS Credits 6
Workload PL(30H)/T(30H)
Scientific area Industrial Chemistry
Entry requirements Not applicable.
Learning outcomes Mastery of relevant concepts within the food industry, ranging from physical, chemical, biochemical and biological concepts relevant for this industry, as well as the basic concepts underlying technologies and unit operations involved therein. Develop skills in design and research within this field.
At the end of this course the student should be able to:
- Interpret, evaluate and discuss the issues underlying food processing and production.
- Conceptualize the principles underlying the different technologies and unit operations within food industries.
- Investigate and propose different technological alternatives for food production.
- Discuss and propose solutions to problems encountered in food industries.
Syllabus 1. Energy and control in food processes: steam production; fuel usage.
2. Thermal processing of foods: microbial decimal reduction D; thermal death time F; calculations. Refrigeration: vapor compression cycle. Freezing: ice crystallization; Plank's equation and Pham's method. Dehydration: drying process; drying time. Evaporation: steam economy; calculations.
3. Packaging: materials; mass transfer and permeability; shelf life.
4. The complexity of foods: lipid autoxidation; Maillard reactions. Genetically modified organisms: production and social and ethical implications.
5. Nanotechnology applied to food processing: encapsulation of bioactive compounds.
6. Industrial food preservation processes: drying; dehydration; freeze-drying; refrigeration; freezing; radiation; high pressure. Industrial processes for reducing food allergenicity.
Main Bibliography Sing, R.P., Heldman, D.R., Introduction to Food Engineering, Elsevier, New York, 2014.
Chemistry and Biochemistry of Food, Jose Pérez-Castiñeira, 2nd ed., De Gruyter, Berlin, 2024.
Food Allergies - Processing Technologies for Allergenicity Reduction, Roua Lajnaf (Editor), CRC Press, USA , 2024.
Adams, M. R., Moss,M. O., Food Microbiology, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2014.
Brennan, James G. (Ed.), Food Processing Handbook, , Wiley-VCH, OWeinheim, Germany, 2012.
Rester, R. E., Harrison, R. M. (Ed.), Food Safety and Food Quality, The Royal Society of
Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2001.
Ibarz, A., Unit Operations in Food Engineering, Woodhead Publishing, USA, 2022.
Fennema's Food Chemistry, Srinivasan Damodaran (Editor), Kirk L. Parkin (Editor), 5th edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA,
Fellows, P., Food Processing Technology - Principles and Practice, CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA, 2022.
Han, Jung H. (Ed.), Innovations in Food Packaging, Academic Press, NY, USA, 2013.
Teaching Methodologies and Assessment Criteria The teaching in this course unit is structured in face-to-face classes: theoretical and laboratory practices. In the theoretical classes, which are taught with the help of audio-visual aids, an overview of the studied topics is given, with special emphasis on the most important concepts for understanding them. The theoretical-practical components are also developed with the resolution of exercises where knowledge is applied through problem-solving. Laboratory practices are also carried out.
The student is evaluated through 2 individual written exams - PT1 and PT2 (70% of the final grade - NF), and a monograph, MG (30%), which includes discussion (15%) and written work (15%).
NF = 0.35 PT1 + 0.35 PT2 + 0.3 MG
Approval if NF >= 9.5 and (PT1 + PT2)/2 >= 9.5
Final grade by exam = exam grade × 0.7 + 0.3MG
Attendance:
- 70% in Theoretical classes
- 100% in Laboratory classes
Language Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.
Last updated on: 2025-03-18

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