Food Science and Nutrition BSc

Flavour plays an important role in our enjoyment of food, consumption experience, repeat purchase and health and wellbeing. It can be measured by both scientific instruments and sensory panels. But what are the differences between the two, and how can we use them to solve current challenges in the food industry?

In this module, you will study:

• the chemistry, physics and physiology of food flavour
• advanced methods to measure sensory and consumer perceptions of food
• factors that affect our sensory perception and food choice, like genetics
• a range of analytical techniques (APCI-MS, GC-MS, GC-O and HPLC-MS) for flavour analysis
• dynamic flavour release and its role in eliciting flavour perception

You will respond to a current food industry challenge and apply the advanced knowledge you have gained from this module to design and present a realistic scientific solution to a technical brief.

What are you going to do after your degree? Options include:

• Technical roles
• Research and development
• New product development
• Further study
• Specialised areas, such as flavour or sensory science or legislation

Through a range of workshops you will gain an awareness of what opportunities exist, identify your strengths and interests and practice how to manage your transition into your next steps.

The module has opportunities to engage with industry guests, alumni and your peers to support you in making good decisions about your future career.

Gain exciting insights into our current research and how it is shaping current and future food formulations and processes. Seminar topics include:

• flavour and sensory science
• properties of biopolymers
• sustainable nutrition
• salt reduction
• engineering new food structures

From these seminars you will identify an area of study that interests you the most for your final year research project. Through discussions with the academic you will create a title for your research project, which you will undertake in your final semester on your course.

Good nutrition is needed to maintain health at any age. So how do nutritional requirements change as we get older? In this module, you’ll explore nutrition throughout the life course. You'll identify the nutritional needs of different age groups. Starting with pre-conception, to pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and into old age. You'll understand the role of optimal nutrition in preventing disease and promote healthy diets.

You’ll study:

• developmental origins of health and disease
• risk factors for nutritional disease at different stages of life
• epidemiological methods used to identify public health challenges
• nutrition in human physiological development across the life course

Innovation is crucial within food science. It involves translating scientific, engineering, and technological insights into nutritious, sustainable, and commercially viable foods. This module combines lectures from world-leading internal and external experts, with a practical project, where you will work in a group to create a new food product. 

In this module you will study: 

• food factory operations and engineering   
• new product development, brands and consumer trends
• packaging, unit operations, process and quality control 
• microbiological testing, HACCP and compliance
• intellectual property and entrepreneurship

You'll then work with an industry partner to develop a new food product. Using our Food Processing Facility you'll explore all areas of product formulation, manufacture, quality control, microbiological safety analysis, sensory and consumer assessments.

The module culminates with our New Product Development Showcase, where you can present your work to external visitors, industry partners and members of the broader university community. 

This module will provide you with an opportunity to use your initiative and knowledge to undertake an original research project under the supervision of an individual member of academic staff. You will design the study, gain familiarity with the techniques, undertake data collection, debate ethical issues and where appropriate safety procedures relevant to the topic. Examples of recent research projects include:

• omega-3 oils from sustainable non-fish sources
• the impact of UV-C treatment on nutritional composition of fruit and vegetables
• does the antibody specificity to food proteins from maternal milk reflects the serum levels?
• do dietary polyphenols reduce blood pressure?