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Application of Food Additives

Course developer

Prior knowledge

Ķīmi5006, Chemistry of Natural Compounds

Course abstract

The study subject aims to provide a comprehensive overview of food additives, to define the role and functions of food additives in food product production for the maintenance of food quality and safety, to characterise potential benefits and risks of additives for human consumption, to acquaint in food additives law and regulations, to gain a basic understanding of food additives application and to review a basic food processing and packaging techniques for additives substitution in food products production.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Theoretical knowledge:
1) ability to understand the role of food additives in food production;
2) ability to apply knowledge on food additives in food production and their influence on human health – practical works and seminars.
Practical knowledge and skills:
1) ability to apply skills associated with the application and functions of food additives in food production and also with their reflection in food labelling;
2) ability to apply skills about legislative acts that regulate the use of food additives in EU – independent work.
Competence:
1) ability to make decisions for an application of current additive/es in food production;
2) understand, evaluate and explain in a reasoned way the necessity to add food additives in food production;

3) ability to utilize knowledge regarding food additives in other areas/subjects of food quality and safety studies – practical works, independent work and final work.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. The structure of the course. Food additives, the aim of usage, functions of food additives, functional groups (1h lectures).
2. Regulation of food additives usage, and its analysis (2h lectures; 2h seminars).
3. Risks and benefits of food additives application (2h lectures).
4. Preservatives and antioxidants, their evaluation. Most commonly used preservatives' characteristics (2h lectures).
5. Food additives for flavour and aroma improvement: flavour enhancers, sweeteners, acidity regulators (1h lecture, 2h practical works).
6. Usage of sweeteners for sugar replacement, benefits and technological solutions (1h lecture).
7. Food additives for improvement of product likeness (1h lecture).
8. Food colourants, and their comparison. Safety concerns for synthetical colourants (1h lecture, 2h practical works).
9. Food additives for improvement of food rheological properties (2h seminars).
10. Emulsifiers, emulsion function. Examples for emulsifiers’ application (2h practical works).
11. Starch, cellulose derivatives, algae and microbially produced polysaccharides - sources for stabilisers (1h lecture, 2h practical works).
12. Food additives for technological process management (1h lecture).

13. Colloquium. The summary and conclusions.

Requirements for awarding credit points

Test with a mark is resulted from:
• successfully presented an independent work (50%);

• final work (test) (50%).

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Independent work is to acquaint with the usage of food additives in the chosen product production (substantiation, application frequency, conformity to food additives legislative acts, functionality and safety should be evaluated), as well as to evaluate the substitution of food additives with technological processes, equipment or technological aids in the chosen products production. The independent work is prepared as a report and should be presented to the students’ auditorium.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

During mastering of the course, students should participate in seminars and practical works, elaborate individual work and present to students auditoria. The assessment of the study course is resulted from final work (test) and successfully completed/presented independent work results.

Compulsory reading

1. Ozola L. Pārtikas piedevas. - Rīga: NEO, 2003. - 112 lpp.
2. Natural food additives, ingredients and flavourings / edited by David Baines and Richard Seal. Oxford; Philadelphia, PA: Woodhead Pub., 2012. - 460 p.
3. Food Additives/ edited by A.Branen, P.Davidson, S.Salminen, J. Thorgate III - 2nd ed., rev. and expanded. - New York, Basel: Marcel Decker, Inc., 2002. - 938 p.

4. Sweeteners. Leatherhead: Leatherhead Publishing; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007., 304 p.

Further reading

1. Food Colorants. Chemical and Functional Properties. Edited by C.Socaciu. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2008. – 633 p.
2. Natural colourants: Science and technology/edited by G.Lauro, F.Francis. - New York; Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2000. - 336 p.

3. Food chemistry/ edited by H.D. Belitz, W. Grosch, P. Schieberle. Berlin: Springer, 2009., 1070 p.

Periodicals and other sources

www.efsa.europa.eu
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/chem/jecfa/en
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=lv
https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety_en https://www.zm.gov.lv/partika/

https://www.zm.gov.lv/partikas-un-veterinarais-dienests/statiskas-lapas/normativie-akti?nid=2092

Notes

Compulsory study course for students studying in the academic Master’s study programme “Food Science”.