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FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
FRANCESCA COMITINI

Seat Scienze
A.A. 2016/2017
Credits 6
Hours 48
Period 2^ semestre
Language ENG
U-gov code SM04 3A101

Prerequisites

Main knowledge on topics of  General Microbiology and Biotechnology of Microorganisms

Development of the course

Theoretical lessons (4 credits, 32 hours) are planned together with laboratory practical experiments carried out individually or in small groups (2 credits, 16 hours). The frontal lessons are flanked with group activity of cooperative learning in which students develop inputs provided by the professor.
Educational visits to food companies and / or research centers applied to the food industry represent an integral part of the course.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge:
The objective of the course is to introduce the student to the protechnological role of microorganisms in food. The main microbial groups commonly associated with food will be taken into consideration, particularly focusing on their role in spoilage, foodborne disease and food fermentations. Furthermore, ways to control the microbial development in food will be introduced. Finally, approaches for principal fermented foods will be addressed.

Ability to apply the knowledge:
The student will acquire the basic understanding regarding food microbiology. More specifically, it is expected that the different roles (safety, spoilage, technological importance) of microorganisms in food will be clear. Similarly, knowledge concerning the different approaches employed for limiting or guiding microbial development in food will be obtained.

Program

The class focuses on subjects that are configured in the learning context of quality and safety.

Frontal lessons:
Parameters that influence the survival or resistance of microorganisms in fermented  foods.
Effect of various technological approaches employed by the food industry on the physiology of microorganisms in foods.
Microorganisms involved in food fermentations (metabolism, characteristics)
Wine Microbiology: preliminary winemaking technology informations
The wine mo: non-Saccharomyces and S. cerevisiae
Classification of wine yeasts: characterization and identification
Natural and inoculated industrial fermentations
The malolactic bacteria, malolactic fermentation and yeast interactions
The ri-fermentative processes of wines: the sparkling wine
The wine faults
Microbiology of Dairy products: lactic acid bacteria and lactic fermentation
Dairy products: milk and fermented milk
Probiotics, prebiotics, pathogens and spoilage of milk
Cheeses
Microbiology of fermented sausages
Other food matrix: eggs, sauces and honey
The HACCP and FSO systems for food security
The role of bacteriophages in food microbiology

Lab Classes:
Sampling and microbiological analysis of food
Microbial counts, isolation
Identification of food isolates

Development of the examination

Methods of learning assessment:
The evaluation of the class is based on an oral exam. 
The exam consists of an oral exam, also the student delivery their lab reports.

Criteria for assessing learning outcomes: 
In the lab reports the student must demonstrate that they have achieved the ability to apply the knowledge acquired during the frontal lessons, to enforce a simple laboratory analysis with the ability to critically draw a report test.

Criteria for measuring learning outcomes:
The final evaluation is expressed in thirty. The exam is valid when the grade is greater than or equal to 18.

Criteria for conferring final mark:
The final grade is given by summing the evaluation of the oral exam with the laboratory report, up to a maximum of two points. Praise is given when the student has demonstrated full mastery of the subject.

Recommended reading

Slides available on the webpage of the class.
Microbiologia dei prodotti alimentari, G. A. Farris, M. Gobbetti, E. Neviani, M. Vincenzini, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.
Microbiologia degli alimenti, J. M. Jay, M. J. Loessner, D. A. Golden. Springer.
Microbiologia degli Alimenti, Galli Volonterio, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.

Courses

• Biologia molecolare e applicata