NFSC 288

STUDY GUIDE for TEST 1

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD SCIENCE

1. Components of food industry (marketing, processing, transportation, etc.).
2. Components of food science discipline (food chemistry, food microbiology, etc.).
3. Basic info about IFT (Institute of Food Technologists).

OVERVIEW OF FOOD SCIENCE (Chapter 1, Parker Book)

1. Four parts of the food industry (production, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing).
2. Divide the food industry by major product lines (cereals and grains, dairy products, etc.).
3. Describe consumer food buying trends (% spent on food, % spent away from home).
4. Compare spending for food in the United States to that in other countries.
5. Trends in meal purchases (food consumed away from home).
6. Consumption trends (specific categories, chain restaurants, volume of advertising).
7. Identify allied industries (packaging, chemical, safety, equipment).
8. Consumer trends (social concerns, marketplace influences, impact of technology, etc.).

UNIT OPERATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING (Chapter 5, Potter Book)

1. What are examples of unit operations? To which category do they belong (materials
handling, conversion, preservation, etc.)?
2. Materials handling in food industry (examples; handling of oranges and sugar).
3. General types of pumps (centrifugal, positive) and the use of each (external gear pump for
liquids vs. single screw pump for solid foods, etc.)
4. Cleaning requirements and cleaning methodologies.
5. Methods of reducing the size of a food product (slicing, homogenization, etc.).
6. Methods for Shaping/Forming foods and mixing of foods ingredients.
7. Name three methods for separating food products (peeling (+ labelling of equipment),
cream separation, clarification, membrane separation).
8. Main characteristics of membrane separation (methods, differences in pore size and
pressure).
9. Describe five factors influencing heat transfer (specific heat, thermal conductivity, latent
heat, density, equipment design).
10. Main methods of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation).
11. Types of heat exchangers (plate, tubular, swept surface) and their characteristics (types of
foods processed).
12. Identify five unit processes that include heat transfer (pasteurization, sterilization,
refrigeration, etc.).
13. Reasons for packaging food products.
14. Control devices and new processes used in food processing.

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QUALITY FACTORS IN FOODS (CHAPTER 6, Potter Book)
1. Appearance factors (color and geometrical attributes).
2. Methods of measuring color (colorimetry, spectrophotometry) and components of color
(value, hue, chroma or L, a, b values).
3. Examples of instruments that could be used to measure food texture (compressimeter,
penetrometer, tenderometer, etc.).
4. Basic tastes and components of flavor.
5. Discuss three factors that can affect food flavor (MO, light, oxygen, etc.).
6. Main types of sensory tests (difference, descriptive, acceptance), characteristics and uses
(types of panelists, test objective).
7. Quality standards in foods, case of USA: the role the USDA plays in food quality.
8. Quality standards in foods, case of Lebanon: the role LIBNOR plays in food quality.
9. Quality Management Systems: examples.
10. Good manufacturing practices: examples.

HEAT PROCESSING (CHAPTER 8, Potter Book)

1. Functions of heat processing (destroying microorganisms and inactivating enzymes,
heating softens foods and aids in the development of desirable flavors thus increasing the
palatability of foods).
2. What are the heat resistant microorganisms? (Clostridrium Botulinum for pathogenic,
Bacillus Stearothermophilus FS 1518, for non-pathogenic)
3. Types of treatments for low acid vs. high acid foods (pH classification, 4.6).
4. Defining sterility, commercial sterility, pasteurization, blanching and their applications.
5. Types of milk thermal processing (HTST, LTLT, UHT).
6. What are the requirements to select a heat treatment (i.e. time temperature combination to
inactivate most heat resistant microorganism, heat penetration characteristic of food and
container).
7. What foods heat by conduction, convection or both?
8. Coldest point and come up time.
9. Effect of different food constituents on microbial kill (acid vs. sugar, starch and fat)
10. Defining D-value, Z-value, F-value, 12-D treatment.
11. To be able to read and extract D, F and Z values if given a graph.
12. Types of retorts and labeling of equipment + functions of different parts.
13. Heating foods in containers vs. before packaging. Examples and characteristics (aseptic,
hot pack hot fill, etc.).

VIDEO MATERIAL
1. Only the main steps for apple juice processing, potato chips processing, pasta processing,
hot dog processing and canned tomatoes processing.