Food Science MSci

What is food quality and how can it be defined for each commodity? How does it develop then deteriorate? What methods (chemical, physical or biochemical) can be employed to control quality and slow down deterioration? In this module you will learn about the properties of major food commodities including cereals, fruit, coffee, herbs and spices, sugar, fish and milk. You will examine the strategies employed to store and/or prepare material for food manufacturing and transport and learn about the global food supply chain. You will have lectures and small group work.

Learn how our body reacts when it first senses the presence of food, and how hormones are activated in response to hunger and food consumption. The microbiome and gut health will be covered, both in the healthy state and when undesirable reactions occur, leading to disease. You will explore how certain foods can impact the body, affecting our cognitive and physical health.

Nutrients are vital to human and animal health, but how do they work? In this module, you’ll be given a comprehensive introduction to the key concepts in the field of nutrition. Depending on your interests, you can study human or animal nutrition, or both. Understand how the food we eat influences our health. Explore how the food eaten by animals impacts on food production and the global food system.

You’ll study:

• micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals
• macronutrients, including proteins, carbohydrates and fats
• metabolism, and how nutrients give us energy
• the influence of nutrition in diseases such as cancer and diabetes

Have you ever wondered how some crops can resist diseases? This module provides you with the fundamentals for understanding biochemical processes in living organisms. You’ll be introduced to the basic structure, properties and functions of the four key biological macromolecules: nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. You’ll also look at the metabolic pathways occurring in cells, such as respiration, photosynthesis and the biosynthetic pathways for the key macromolecules. In addition to lectures, you’ll have practical laboratory sessions to learn how to use key biochemical techniques for the separation and analysis of macromolecules and measurement of the metabolic process.

During processing, the material properties of the food are altered; this directly affects the quality of the food product in terms of its colour, flavour and texture. You'll be introduced to the properties of food materials both raw and processed, with a particular focus on the chemical and physical nature of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. You’ll have a weekly four hour lecture supported by three hours of practicals each week.

The tutorials component of this module is intended to enhance your transition into university and guide you through the academic expectations of your degrees. This part of the module is spread throughout the year and includes three generic sessions on ‘study skills and plagiarism’, ‘study opportunities’ and ‘career and personal development’, and a series of small group tutorials with your academic tutor to develop generic skills such as finding crucial information, oral presentation, data handling and presentation of results, preparation for examinations, and essay writing skills relevant to biosciences.

The Foundation Science content has three elements: chemistry, maths and statistics and physics. The chemistry element will include: elements and periodic table; atomic structure and bonding; intermolecular attractions, chemical equilibrium; acids and bases, oxidation and reduction; rates of reaction; basic organic chemistry, isomerism, and rings.  The Maths and Stats element will include: calculations, algebra, functions and relationships, powers, logarithms, descriptive statistics, significance, regression and presenting data. The Physics element will include: units and dimensions; power, energy and heat; light and the electromagnetic spectrum; attenuation/absorption; and radioactivity.

There is also an IT element, which interfaces with generic IT training for undergraduates provided within the University.

The major aim of this course is to provide you with the basic knowledge of bacterial cell structures and growth and to reveal the mechanisms that allow bacteria to respond to their environment.  Students will also be taught how to handle data commonly used in microbiological experimentation and be given training in the basic practical methods required for all microbiological and food microbiological laboratory work. You will have weekly lectures and practicals.

Modern agriculture is a dynamic, fast-paced and high-tech industry. In this module, you’ll explore practical agricultural systems used by commercial UK farms. Designed for students with a farm or non-farming background, you’ll get to understand the fundamental concepts of agricultural systems within the context of contemporary markets, policy and research. Exact topics covered in the module will vary according to the issues affecting the agricultural industry in any one year, but examples include: dairy production, arable production, soils, agri-environmental interactions, labour and machinery management and farm business systems. You’ll have lectures from academics currently researching these fields and will visit the University Farm and external farms to see what you’ve learnt in practice.

Be introduced to the key ingredient transformations and manufacturing steps required to safely produce food microstructures such as bread, yoghurt, and chocolate.

You'll explore how we measure sensory properties and consumer liking of a food product, providing you with an opportunity to gain a Foundation level Certificate in Sensory Science from the Institute of Food Science and Technology.

You’ll study:

• the senses and their role in assessing the sensory properties of products
• sensory evaluation, including panel selection, training and sensory protocols, sensory data analysis and consumer methods for the evaluation of products
• the role of ingredients and processing steps in creating food products
• how the food industry ensures final product quality

Students also have the option to sit the Institute of Food Science and Technology Sensory examination leading to a Foundation Certificate in Sensory Science, for which the course is accredited. Following on from the sensory evaluation of food, the manufacture of food products is addressed from three major perspectives in this module: material functionality, manufacturing process and quality of the final product. Material functionality includes the physiochemical properties of the material as well as the functionality of each ingredient in creating the final food product microstructure. Manufacturing process includes the unit operations required to transform the materials to a food product as well as the effect of these operations on each ingredient. Quality of the final product to include quality control measurement, an appreciation for the safety of the food product and sensorial properties.

This module considers food safety and food quality. It covers the full spectrum of potential foodborne illness, mechanisms and techniques of food preservation. You'll cover the legislation and regulatory environment for the production of commercially viable foods. Specific areas include: 

• Potential foodborne illness and spoilage microorganisms found in the food chain

• Nutritional aspects of food preservation

• Product shelf life and techniques and methods that target extended shelf life

• Theory and practice of major food preservation techniques

Through problem-based learning you will develop skills in diagnosing and solving challenges relating to the manufacture, distribution and/or storage of food products. Most of the scenarios are sourced from real-life industry problems. You’ll have a full day session each week to study for this module.

This module provides a fundamental understanding of the microorganisms causing food-borne disease. You'll learn about the mechanisms by which they do this and their routes of transmission.

In laboratory practicals you will learn a number of core practical methods needed for the safe handling, culture, isolation, enumeration and identification of a range of level 2 pathogens.These are biological agents that can cause disease including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria and Salmonella. 

Innovation and enterprise are key drivers of agri-business success and growth. You’ll explore a range of topics including:

• knowledge transfer and exchange
• intellectual property surrounding new innovations
• planning issues for businesses and technologies supporting sustainable intensification projects.

You’ll examine the issues surrounding green energy, taxation, inheritance and business succession. 

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. 

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.

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. This project encourages critical thinking and involves independent research in a supportive environment 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. You’ll undertake appropriate quantitative analysis and prepare a report of approximately 5000 words.

Recent research projects include: 

• waste tomato seed as a source of tocopherol (vitamin E)-rich natural emulsions

• comparison between Turkish Delight and hard gummy sweets

• particle stabilised emulsions 

• flavour perception of standard and organic orange juice

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.

You’ll gain an understanding of:

• micro-organisms which are important in foods
• factors which control the development of the microflora of food products
• methods which can be used to isolate and identify bacteria from food products

You’ll study over the year in both lectures and practicals.

This module should give you an overall grasp of the major analytical techniques available and how they relate to each other. You will also develop your abilities in experimental design and data analysis using appropriate software and presentation of results. There will be a three hour lecture each week to study for this module.

The overall aim is to consider, practice, write and assess research proposals. In the real world, one may have to communicate to experts within your discipline or to non-specialist professionals. A subsidiary aim is to give students information and teach skills, which will help them in coursework assignments. A third aim is to give students the opportunity to study a topic, which may not otherwise be formally covered, and to communicate that topic to their peers.

Project management skills are a highly transferable skill directly relevant to employment sectors. The module will cover the fundamentals of project management, including project lifecycles, leadership in project management, managing risk in projects, analysis of project successes and failures and project management software. Students will produce a documented project management outline tailored to their research project to identify the key constraints, bottlenecks and milestones. This will be supplemented by the production of appropriate project management visualisation diagram, ie a Gantt or PERT chart. They will also present an interim verbal report to their supervisors and the module convenor to rehearse such reporting skills.

This module will train you in the planning, execution and reporting of an independent advanced level research project. The module will help develop the skills associated with planning, recording and executing an individual research project; presenting research both orally and visually to an audience of peers; writing scientific papers; effective time management and assimilating new research skills associated with a specific project.

This module aims to increase your theoretical knowledge of business skills required in the global food or associated industries. You will consolidate learning from other science modules on the course by putting them into a business framework.

This module considers the importance of engaging publics with cutting edge research and will equip you with methods of engagement that are suitable for varying audiences.