Food Processing Innovation And Tradition Cremona

The course provides advanced knowledge of the diversity, and technological role of lactic acid bacteria and other microorganisms involved in food fermentation of dairy, meat, and vegetable products. The course covers the taxonomy, identification, and diversity of food-associated lactic acid bacteria, with emphasis on molecular and genomic methods used for their characterization. It also addresses key genetic aspects, bacteriophage interactions, antimicrobial traits, and the technological relevance of these microorganisms in food production. The course will also cover the use of lactic acid bacteria as starter, adjunct, and protective cultures. Specific attention is also given to non-starter lactic acid bacteria and their impact on food quality, ripening, safety, and sensory properties. The course further explores the functional aspects of lactic acid bacteria, including their role as probiotics and postbiotics. Finally, it examines aroma production during fermentation, microbial secondary metabolites in fermented foods and beverages, and their influence on the organoleptic properties of food products.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
explain the role of microorganisms, particularly lactic acid bacteria (starter and non-starter cultures), in the fermentation of food products and identify the main criteria for the selection of starter cultures for different food fermentation processes;
understand the taxonomy, diversity, and identification of food-associated lactic acid bacteria using molecular and genomic approaches;
describe the main genetic traits, bacteriophage interactions, and antimicrobial properties of lactic acid bacteria relevant to food production;
discuss the functional relevance of lactic acid bacteria, including probiotics and postbiotics;
apply microbiological knowledge to the evaluation and improvement of food fermentation processes in the context of food production.
The aim of the course is to provide students with the basic principles of food hygiene, the ecology and physiology of food-associated spoilage microbes and the main food-borne human pathogens; lessons will focus on new insights about microorganism metabolism and new control measures to avoid microbial contamination of foodstuffs that can be spread throughout the production chain.
The 4 ECTS (plus 1 lab-based ECTS) of the module will be subdivided in different topics. A first session will be related to the complexity of the food production systems and the future challenges of food safety in the global supply chain, with an eye on emerging risks. The second part will focus on zoonoses and foodborne pathogens and their resistance mechanisms. The third part will describe methods and risk-based approach for shelf life assessment; the two last sections will deal with novel foods and related risks and microbes responsible of food spoilage. An introduction on food alerts and EU regulation will be analysed through the EU RASFF system.
At the end of the course, students are expected to develop the following skills.
Knowledge ability
Know the most recent research focused on the study of the main biological parameters and the stress response mechanisms used by microorganisms;
investigate microbial metabolism and the virulence characteristics of the main foodborne pathogenic microorganisms through innovative research studies;
understand the EU system for zoonoses surveillance and monitoring;
determine the shelf life of a food product from a microbiological point of view, define the source of contamination by microorganisms and methods of detection.
Know-how application
assess the behaviour of pathogenic microorganisms and learn about mitigation strategies;
guarantee the organoleptic characteristics of the product together with the safety and microbiological quality, thanks to practical examples and laboratory exercises;
Autonomy in self-assessment
evaluate autonomously the level of biological risk associated to foodstuffs and decide how to apply the proper control measures.
Communications skills
demonstrate, both through oral or written communication, the main issues related to food safety and biological risks by using a correct technical vocabulary.

Classroom lesson will cover 5 ECTS, while 1 ECTS will be covered by lab-based work, facing the count and the evaluation of phenotypic and genomic features of LABs.
The teaching activities will consist of:

• formal lectures using presentations with several practical examples aimed at stimulating the overall discussion.
• laboratory classes in which students will set up practical experiences, performing the application of microbiological techniques for microorganisms’ detection in food.
• working groups where students learn to share opinions, collect data and discuss the final outcomes of food safety topics;
• a visit in a food company will help to better understand the real setting and application of hygiene measures and good manufacturing practices.

Final exam is oral and includes open-ended questions aimed at assessing students’ ability to critically apply notions acquired during the study. Specific questions are formulated to verify learning skills on each of the ECTS.
Final assessment is an oral exam with open-ended questions aimed at assessing students’ ability to critically apply notions acquired during the study. In particular, the students will be asked to choose a pathogenic microorganism of interest and to discuss its characteristics and occurrence in the food chain and stress resistance pathways together with new methods of control and present it through a presentation (10 minutes maximum) during the exam. Additional theoretical questions, based on the topics discussed during lectures, will be made to verify learning skills on each of the ECTS. Case study assignments and working group activities will be considered as part of the final evaluation.

G.Vinderola-A.C. Ouwehand-S. Salminen-A. von Wright, Lactic Acid Bacteria: Microbiological and Functional Aspects, CRC Pres, Taylor & Francis Group LLC, 5th edition, 2019.
K.R. Matthews-E. Kniel-T.J. Montville, Food Microbiology: An Introduction, ASM Books, 4th edition, 2019.
e- BOOKS (frre download)

• Ending the War Metaphor: The Changing Agenda for Unraveling the Host-Microbe Relationship: Workshop Summary: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK57071/?term=%22food%20microbiology%22
  The Microbiology of Safe Food. Stephen J. Forsythe. John Wiley & Sons Yanbo Wang, Wangang Zhang, Linglin Fu.
  Food Microbiology and Biotechnology: Safe and Sustainable Food Production. Guadalupe Virginia Nevárez-Moorillón (Curatore), Arely Prado-Barragán (Curatore); Apple Academic Press Inc., 2021.
  Food Spoilage and Preservation. Kumar, Manojm. Available free online: https://zenodo.org/records/18071048
  Slides and additional materials will be provided by the lecturer.

Today, more than ever, the demand for safety and quality in the food and beverage industry is exponentially increasing. Traditionally focused on food safety, EU law increasingly is also taking a look at fraudulent practices that cause financial losses rather than health damages to consumers. Therefore, all food chain stakeholders are required to demonstrate their commitment to safe and authentic food by implementing a Food Safety and Quality Management System (FSQMS). EU Regulations legally require every food business operator to put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure or procedures based on the HACCP principles. HACCP is therefore an indispensable and integral part of any FSQMS.
Next to the legal requirements, many food business operators are facing contractual obligations by their clients to subscribe to one of the GFSI recognized private Food Safety Standards such as BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000.
The aim of this course is to provide the participants with the fundamental knowledge and understanding on food quality assurance according to the most relevant requirements of European Food Law Regulation and International Standards; the course aims to introduce students to the framework for safety and quality management and its impact on agri-food enterprises and to illustrate the main product and system certification standards.
At the end of the course, students are expected to have acquired the knowledge, approaches, methods, and techniques used to implement an efficient Food Safety and Quality Management System. Moreover, students are supposed to possess the relevant information to manage the fundamental requirements of EU food law and the main international standards in order to assure food quality and food safety. They will be able to gather information on relevant issues of quality and can interpret it in a way that will help them to come to autonomous judgements.

1. Theoretical frontal and dialogue-based lectures aimed at presenting the key concepts of the subject.
2. Assignment of working groups for the resolution of specific case-studies related to the course topics and presentation of the results by students.

The assessment is based on an oral exam (PowerPoint presentation + discussion) and a short paper. Group work will be carried out during the course, with an illustration of the topics and aims of the work, and the requirements of the final report (PowerPoint presentation + short paper) given at the start of the course. Normally, the group work involves a literature research on specific topics covered in the course or resolution of assigned case-studies. The work groups may consist indicatively of a maximum of 5 students, and the contribution and role of each individual member must be explicitly indicated in the final report. The PowerPoint presentation, discussion and short paper will be assessed with a mark out of 30. The final mark will be taken as a weighted arithmetic mean of the mark obtained in the PowerPoint presentation + discussion (with an 80% weight) and that obtained in the short paper (with a 20% weight). In the case of working students or students unable to participate in the group work, this must be communicated to the lecturer at the beginning of the course, who will then be able to provide appropriate alternative ways to cover this part of the programme.

EU Food Law handbook, Bernd Van der Meulen/Bart Wernaart (Ed.), 2020, Wageningen Academic Publishers.
Food Safety for the 21st Century – Managing HACCP and Food Safety throughout the Global Supply Chain, Wallace, Carol A/Sperber, William H./Mortimore, Sara E., 2011, Wiley.
Lecturer’s notes, additional bibliographic material, web resources, E-books, technical standards, and PDF documents on Food Law, Food Quality Assurance and International Certifications will be provided during the course.

The overall aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge of tools and methods for food industry processes, to optimise production cycles from a global quality, safety and economic point of view.
At the end of the course, students will know: the method for calculating the lethality of a heat treatment as an application tool for controlling, predicting and optimising processes; the process and product parameters that can be optimised in non-stationary heat treatments; the basic principles to evaluate the selection of unconventional and innovative technologies.
Based on the knowledge acquired, students will be able to identify the key parameters for controlling and optimising heat processes, including through the choice of non-conventional technologies, while assessing their implications for food safety and quality.
The students will also be introduced to the fundamentals of managing a food production facility. These range from defining key performance indicators (KPIs) to establishing the principles of Lean Manufacturing. Students will be provided with a practical guide to analyse technical issues related to food production as well as managerial aspects of leading a team.

1. Theoretical frontal and dialogue-based lectures aimed at presenting the key concepts of the subject.
2. Frontal tutorials involving the assisted solving of numerical problems related to conventional heat treatments and technical-economic aspects of new product and process development.
3. Assignment of working groups for the resolution of specific case studies related to the course topics (eventually).
4. Classroom seminars with company testimonials.
5. A possible educational visit to a food company.

At the end of the course, there will be a written exam with numerical exercises and open theoretical questions. The final mark will be based on the performance at the written exam and, in case of a teamwork or individual assignment on specific case studies, on the teamwork of individual work outputs. An additional oral discussion will be possible on request to improve the mark. The mark will reflect the acquired competences, the elaboration capacity, and the mastery of the appropriate technical terminology.

D.R. Heldman-R.W. Hartel, Principles of Food Processing, Int. Thomson Publishing, New York, 1997.
H. Ramaswamy, M. Marcotte, Food Processing. Principles and Applications, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, 2006.
R.P. Singh, D.R. Heldman, Introduction to Food Engineering. Fifth edition. Academic Press, Burlington USA, 2014.
M. Ballé, F.Ballè, The Lean Manager. A Novel of Lean Transformation. Lean Enterprise Institute.
Rahul s mor- sachin s.kamble-kuldip singh sangwan. Operations and Supply chain Management in the food industry, Springer.
Lecturer's notes.
Aids related to specific topics will be provided during the course.

The aim of this course is to present the basics of spoken and written Italian. During the course students will learn how to communicate in simple, everyday situations and will be introduced to some aspects of the Italian culture. Students will develop their written and oral competences both in passive (reading and listening) and active (writing and speaking) language acquisition. At the end of the course, students will be able to communicate in simple everyday situations, understanding simple original texts and interacting with mother-tongue speakers (A1/A2 CEFR level). (A higher level could be reached if students have already studied Italian in the past)

Language of presentation: Italian/English.
Method of presentation: lectures, role-playing activities, pair-work, group-work, individual assignments, individual or group presentations.

Assignments: students will be asked to prepare some assignments in order to check their progress and as a training to the final exam. Assignments could vary according to the program progress.
Final exam: it includes a written and an oral part.
The written part aims at checking the students’
understanding of written texts
understanding of oral texts
ability to use basic communicative functions and lexicon appropriately
knowledge of basic grammar structures.
The oral part aims at checking the students’ ability to use Italian in a simple oral presentation on a given topic (students will be given their topic/s before the exam session) and/or on selected communicative contexts.
Grading policy: students will receive their final mark as a result of a balanced value coming from their written/oral exam. Students have to pass the written exam in order to take the oral exam. Both exam have to be positive (18/30 minimum score).

Students will be supplied with specific references during the first lectures (depending on the level/s of the class).

The main goal of the course is making students aware of the role played by firms in modern economic systems (also in comparison to other actors such as families, the State and the non-profit organizations) and provide them with the fundamental concepts required for the economic analysis of firms’ processes and structure, as well as the ability to use them in basic situations.
For this reason the lectures will introduce students to the main management functions, also describing the basic organizational structures and the tasks fulfilled by the main functions (administration & finance, marketing, sales, production, supply chain, R&D). The course will also introduce the basics of economic sustainability of business and the basic concepts and tools of business strategy.
Finally, the course will give to students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and critical understanding of the basic concepts of financial accounting and reporting: financial statements and their underlying principles.
The course aims to teach the purpose, the structure and the content of financial statements, as well as the techniques of financial statement analyses employed to interpret firm performance. It introduces also basic principles and approaches on business evaluation. All the topics covered will be supported by illustrative analysis and discussions of case studies.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Know the aims and scope of financial reporting, with a focus on the content of the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement;
Identify the evaluation criteria to be applied to assets and liabilities, including biological assets;
Understand how to carry out an in-depth analysis of firm performance in order to interpret its results under different perspectives and applying different techniques;
Become familiar with basic principles and methods of business evaluation.

This course is concerned with the following contents:
The economic activity: people, needs, consumption, production, markets.
The nature and the goals of the firm.
The general and the business environment and the different classes of stakeholders
Basics of labour organization, organizational structure and management systems
Firm's economic sustainability and stakeholders' expectations.
Basics of business strategy: industry analysis; nature and sources of competitive advantage; different levels of strategy (corporate, business and functional strategy).
Basics of accounting and company performance measures: the financial statements (income statement and balance sheet) as a tool for representing and analysing the economic sustainability.
Course activities consist of a series of lectures, seminars, case histories’ discussion, testimonials and one project work to be developed in small groups. Students are required to actively attend lectures, take part to discussions, when presented with case histories or examples of concrete situations, and prepare group assignments and delivery public presentations in class when scheduled.
CFU
Introduction to financial accounting. The company and its activities. The role of accounting. Purposes and users. Regulation in accounting.
1
Financial reporting. Annual report “package”. Balance sheet. Income statement. Cash flow statement. Evaluation criteria.
2
Financial statement analysis. Purpose and tools. Reformulated reports. Profitability analysis. Liquidity analysis. Solvency analysis. Growth analysis.
2
Business evaluation. Business evaluation: aims and tools. Asset-based approaches Cash-flow-based approaches. Market-based approaches. Mixed-method UEC.
1
The course adopts an integrated approach that combines theoretical and applicative lectures and discussion of case-studies. Students are required to develop group-work analyses on assigned case studies and present such analyses before the end of the course.

Assessment will take the form of a mix between: a) project work, in the form of formal team presentations, and active participation in class activities; b) a midterm individual exam, in form of multiple choice test and open questions; c) the final individual written exam, in form of six open questions.
Instructor: Francesco Maria CIANCI
E-mail: [email protected]
Dott. Francesco Maria Cianci will receive students on appointment after Management Basics lessons on Microsoft Teams
Period of classes: 1° year, 2° quarter
Course codes: CFU 6;
Students will be assessed by an intermediate and a final exam.
Assessment will take the form of a mix between: a) project work, in the form of formal team presentations, and active participation in class activities; b) a midterm individual exam, in form of multiple choice test and open questions; c) the final individual written exam, in form of exercises and open questions.

Week 1
date
September 2025
Title
(L1) The nature of the firm
Readings
G. Airoldi, Organizations, families and economic specialization
Week 2
date
October 2025
Title
(L2) Management and Economic Activity Introduction
Readings
G. Airoldi, Economic activities in organizations
Week 3
date
October 2025
Title
(L3) Institutional structure design and corporate governance - part 1
Readings
C.L. Bovée and J.V. Thill, Forms of ownership
T. Larcker and B. Tayan, Introduction to corporate governance
Week 4
date
October 2025
Title
(L4) Institutional structure design and corporate governance - part 2
Readings
T. Larcker and B. Tayan, Introduction to corporate governance
M.L. Mitchell, J.H. Mulherin and J.F. Weston, Corporate governance and performance
Week 5
date
October 2025
Title
(L5) The structure of organizations – part 1
Readings
R. Grant, Organization structure and management systems
H. Mintzberg, The structuring of organizations
Week 6
date
November 2025
Title
(L6) The structure of organizations -- part 2
Readings
C.L. Bovée and J.V. Thill, Organization and teamwork
R. Grant, Organization structure and management systems
Week 7
date
November 2025
Title
(L7) Strategic management and the competitive environment - part 1
Readings
F. Antoldi, A brief introduction to strategic management
M.L. Mitchell, J.H. Mulherin and J.F. Weston, Strategic processes
Week 8
date
November 2025
Title
(L8) Strategic management and the competitive environment - part 2
Readings
F. Antoldi, A brief introduction to strategic management
M.L. Mitchell, J.H. Mulherin and J.F. Weston, Strategic processes
Week 9
date
November 2025
Title
(L9) New network forms, partnerships, M&As - part 1
Readings
J. Child, Outsourcing and offshoring
J. Child, Strategic alliances
Week 10
date
December 2025
Title
(L10) New network forms, partnerships, M&As - part 2
Readings
M.L. Mitchell, J.H. Mulherin and J.F. Weston, The takeover process
A. Roberts, W. Wallace and P. Moles, Mergers and acquisitions
Week 11
date
December 2025
Title
(L11) Corporate social responsibility and business ethics
Readings
C.L. Bovée and J.V. Thill, Business ethics and corporate social responsibility
D. Crowther and G. Aras, Corporate social responsibility
Class activity
Project work
All the readings concerning the lectures (and the texts of case studies) are included in the collection Management basics: Course Readings and Cases, Academic Year 2025/2026. The appropriate readings for each lecture are listed in the following schedule, identified with the name of the author and the title of the chapter or article to read.
Instructor will provide all lesson slides.
Seminars on the contrary, have a specific programme, including related readings, which will be handed out in class.
Textbook: Weygandt, J. J., & Kimmel, P. D. (2022). Financial accounting with international financial reporting standards (5th ed.). Wiley.
Additional Materials: Relevant IFRS sections will be discussed during the course, with specific attention to IAS 2, IAS 11, IAS 16, IAS 36, IAS 37, IAS 38, and IFRS 9 and IFRS 16 to illustrate topics like inventory valuation, asset depreciation, and accounting for financial instruments. These resources will be uploaded to Blackboard.

The course aims to illustrate and explore the role of nutrition in promoting and maintaining human health. Particular attention will be given to the role of functional foods within a healthy diet in preventing non-communicable diseases. At the end of the course, students will know: a) methods for evaluating the nutritional quality of food; b) the role of functional foods in reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (knowledge and understanding). Students will therefore be able to: a) interpret the nutritional value of food, in particular functional foods, in the context of a healthy and balanced diet; b) understand and interpret nutritional and health claims; c) know how to develop foods aligned with nutritional recommendations (ability to apply knowledge and understanding). Students will also develop ability to critically evaluate the information related to the nutritional and health-related characteristics of food products (independent judgment). Finally, they will be able to independently find and present reliable scientific information regarding the nutritional characteristics of foods and their effects on health (learning ability).

Frontal lectures will be delivered with the support of slide presentations to illustrate the key concepts of the course programme. In-class practical activities will be organized to actively engage students in topics related to the role of nutrition in health promotion.

The final assessment will consist of an oral exam with open-ended questions to evaluate the student’s ability to critically apply the knowledge acquired during the course and through independent study.

Selected scientific publications and documents (guidelines, position papers)
Slides presented during the lessons (uploaded on Blackboard)

The course is aimed to provide a general comprehension of the physical-chemical processes governing food perception, formulation and stability together with the biochemical reactions underlying food structure rather than the development and perception of flavours and tastes. The chemistry and biochemistry of food additives, preservatives and flavours will be a further learning outcome of the course.
At the end of the course the student is expected to achieve a KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION of
The thermodynamics of solutions.
The chemical structure of the main classes of lipids of interest in food chemistry, together with their stability, plasticity, and reactions.
The concepts of surface tension and surface are, the processes involved in emulsion, the activity of emulsifiers, the mesomorphic behaviour.
The emulsification, foaming and gelling properties of proteins, their stability towards oxidation and their reaction with carbonyls.
The non-enzymatic browning (Maillard reaction) from carbohydrates
The role of polysaccharides in food chemistry: gelatinization and retrogradation of starch, the structure and ability of alginates, pectin, guar and carrageenan.
The light absorption ability of colorants; the structure and uses of anthocyanins, carotenoids, betanains, caramel, dyes.
The mechanism of taste sensation, glutamate and umami receptors, taste enhancers, the stereochemical theory of olfaction.
The chemistry and properties of sweeteners.
The chemistry and biochemistry of vitamins.
The chemistry and biochemistry of natural toxicants such as cyanogenic glycosides, glycoalkaloids, glucosinolates, heterocyclic amines, nitrosamines.
Concerning the skills TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION, the student will be able to critically discuss and apply the concepts concerning:
the inclusion/enrichment of food components with the aim of improving the structure and stability of foods.
The mechanisms underlying the development and perception of tastes and flavours.
The relationship between food components and food quality, including functional quality.

Module “BIOCHEMISTRY OF FOOD”
The teaching method is based on classroom lectures, during which the active partecipation of students is strongly encouraged. Even thought the slides used will be made available in advance via the Blackboard online platform, these information must not be considered as exaustive and should be better considered a base that graphically supports lectures. Therefore the student is advised to attend lectures and to integrate the information provided by slides with the reference texts (as provided in the reading list above-reported).
Besides lectures, laboratory exercices (where the student will apply in practical exercices the concepts introduced in lectures) integrate the teaching method.

The method applied to assess the degree of competence acquired includes a) a written exam (intermediate, mid-term assessment, at the end of first module) with open questions on the first module of the course, taking 1 hour; b) a final exam done orally, with 3-6 questions.
The intermediate assessment is facultative and, in case the test is positive (hence with a score of 18/31 as minimum), the corresponding topics will not be investigated further during the oral examination. However, in case of negative scores, it is still possible to do the oral exam on the whole course contents. The students not carrying out or not passing the intermediate written exam can do the oral exam; in that case, they will be examined on the whole course content (i.e., both module 1 and module 2).
The oral exam consists of 3 questions (5-6 in case the written test was unsuccessful). The final score is a weighted average between the (eventual) written and the oral assessments, with a relative weight of 50% each.
During the assessments, the skills regarding (i) the knowledge of the physical-chemical processes governing food stability and texture; (ii) the knowledge of their technological role(s) in food manufacturing and food design; (iii) the knowledge on the chemical processes affecting stability, appearance and taste of foods, as well as (iv) the bioactive components (either desired or undesired) of food will be investigated. The student is asked to argument and defend his conclusions regarding the impact of physical chemical and biochemical processes into food design.

Dominic W.S. Wong – Mechanism and theory in food chemistry, second edition. Springer ed.
Christos Ritzoulis - Introduction to the physical chemistry of foods, CRC press.
deMan, John M.; Finley, John W.; Hurst, W. Jeffrey; Lee, Chang Yong - Principles of Food Chemistry, second ed.- Springer ed.

Il corso, della durata di 30 ore e livello B2+ del Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), ha l’obiettivo di sviluppare e consolidare le capacità linguistiche orali (sia ricettive sia produttive) degli studenti in contesti accademici e lavorativi. Nello specifico il corso mira a consolidare le abilità di note taking, rielaborazione orale, public speaking nonché la capacità di esprimere opinioni e critiche mirate e riflettere sulle relazioni e inferenze testuali. Il corso mira anche a portare gli studenti a una maggior consapevolezza dei registri linguistici da utilizzare nei vari contesti. Al termine del corso lo studente sarà in grado di:
comprendere e rielaborare testi tecnici;
utilizzare il registro linguistico adeguato ai contesti di studio e di lavoro;
preparare presentazioni efficaci seguendo le più comuni regole di public speaking;
organizzare discorsi coesi e coerenti.
Inoltre, avrà consolidato le strutture linguistiche necessarie per comunicare a un livello upper intermediate (B2+).

Durante il corso vengono svolti esercizi atti a sviluppare la capacità di comprensione e di produzione orale degli studenti. Gli esercizi saranno prevalentemente di ascolto, schematizzazione, annotazione e comunicazione, organizzazione di presentazioni. Vi saranno inoltre momenti di dibattito e confronto studente/studente.
Lezioni ed esercitazioni in aula. La presenza e la partecipazione attiva dello studente sono fondamentali.

L’esame finale consiste in una prova scritta e una prova orale entrambe obbligatorie per tutti gli studenti.
Esame scritto: consiste in
esercizi di comprensione orale con domande gap filling e multiple choice (15 punti)
esercizi guidati di writing (che testeranno lessico, uso di linking devices e strutture grammaticali appropriate) (15 punti)
2. Esame scritto: consiste in una presentazione su supporto PowerPoint/Prezi/Canva di circa 8-10 minuti su un argomento scientifico a scelta dello studente. La presentazione dovrà seguire le tecniche di public speaking studiate in aula. Alla presentazione farà seguito un momento di Q&A. (30 punti)
Per poter accedere all'orale gli studenti devono aver superato la prova scritta. La prova scritta rimane valida all’interno della stessa sessione entro la quale lo studente dovrà completare l’esame sostenendo anche la prova orale, pena il decadimento dello scritto.
Le varie parti dell’esame saranno valutate nel seguente modo:
Esame scritto: 50% del punteggio totale
Prova orale: 50% del punteggio totale
L’esito dell’esame è espresso in trentesimi.

Testo utilizzato durante le lezioni
Il materiale verrà messo a disposizione dal docente e reso disponibile sulla piattaforma Blackboard. Gli studenti sono tenuti a consultare regolarmente la pagina e a conoscerla nelle sue parti.

The goal of the course is to give the students the scientific and technical knowledge for the comprehension and management of the fruit chain.
Knowledge and understanding capability.
At the end of the course the student will be able to know and understand:
The role of the genetic element (fruit species, cultivar, rootstock), of the environment (climate and soil) and of the cultural practices (pruning, water and fertilizer supplies, soil management, etc.) on the production and fruit quality of an orchard.
The morphology and physiology of a fruit tree: life cycle and annual cycle.
The quality evaluation of different fruit species emphasizing their nutritional values.
Example of a fruit chain.
The role of genetic, environmental, and growing factors on fruit cold starage.
The modern cold-storage technologies to preserve the fruit global quality while reducing the waste.
The most widespread fruit-based products.
Sustainable and organic production.
Knowledge comprehension and utilization
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
Apply the knowledge concerning the genetic, environmental, and cultural choices in order to understand the link product-field.
Apply the knowledge on the fruit cold-storage to get a high global quality product while reducing the wastes due to decay.
Apply proper field choices in order to obtain the best raw material for specific fruit processed products, avoiding using the wastes from the fresh market.
Opinion autonomy
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
Choose fruits with characteristics suitable for specific processed products (canned fruits, frozen fruits, juices, intermediate moisture fruits, fourth range fruits).
Advise the fruit grower as concerning the field choices in order to get specific quality parameters, keeping in mind that the quality of transformed products is firstly related to the quality of the raw material.
Communication skills
At the end of the teaching program the student will be able to:
Utilize in a proper way the scientific language related to pomology to describe and to transfer, by written documents and oral talks, the acquired knowledge.
Learning skills
At the end of the teaching program the student will be able to:
Improve the knowledge on the different fruit species by the use of textbooks, scientific and popular journals, other proper sources.
The world human population will significantly increase by 2050 to nine billion inhabitants, with the highest growth rate in developing countries. Accordingly, the demand for animal products is expected to increase between 50 and 70%, although with large differences between regions. According to the nutritional recommendations, at least one-third of the daily protein requirement should derive from animal sources, since meat, fish, milk, and eggs are a valuable source of essential amino acids, micronutrients, and vitamins.
However, the rising concern about environmental impacts, global warming, disease spread, animal welfare, food security and safety requires a shift of the production paradigm towards the so-called “sustainable intensification”.
This course will focus on current livestock-based food productions, focusing on dairy, meat (beef, pork and poultry), eggs, aquaculture and will introduce cuniculture, heliciculture and silk production. Each major animal product source will be investigated in terms of quality and trends of production, production systems, and emerging societal issues.
Knowledge and understanding
Thanks to interactive front lessons and discussions, on completion of this course the students will have developed a detailed understanding of environmental, social, and economic factors affecting the livestock sectors and products and will be able to identify specific issues related to milk, meat, eggs, and other types of productions (e.g. rabbit farming, aquaculture etc.). The knowledge acquired will be of particular use to professionals and relevant to anyone across the food industry interested in animal productions and production systems.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
By the end of the teachings, participants will become able to successfully deliver a correct and precise description of the fundamental topics of the subject using proper scientific terms, and to integrate the information gained during the course with knowledge from previous studies and from the literature. The students will be able to:

• identify and evaluate the challenges and opportunities facing different livestock production sectors;
• identify and evaluate measures to improve the quality, sustainability, welfare of a livestock production system;
• describe a set of animal products in terms of quality and physio-chemical features.
  Autonomy of judgement, Communication skills and Learning ability
  At the end of the course the students are expected to hold learning and communication capacities suitable to autonomously elaborate on specific topics related to animal productions, to disseminate them to both professionals and non-professionals, and to evaluate the concepts in a critical way. The lessons are designed to improve the student’s ability to:
• form independent opinions, develop personal ethics and confidence;
• evaluate the credibility and reliability of information sources;
• establish which information is most relevant to the problem at hand;
• improve decision-making skills.
  The goal of this course is to provide students with a solid scientific and technical fundation for understanding the cultivation, production, and post-harvest management of the main grain and vegetable raw materials used in agri-food value chains. The course will guide students through the key factors affecting crop productivity, raw material quality, and sustainability, with particular attention to the relationships between soil properties, crop physiology, agronomic management, environmental constraints, and processing requirements.
  Students will acquire the knowledge required to interpret the whole production process, from field management to raw material evaluation, and to understand how cultivation practices can influence yield, technological quality, nutritional value, and environmental performance. The course also aims to develop students’ ability to critically assess grain and vegetable production systems, identify potential constraints, and propose sustainable management strategies consistent with the needs of modern agro-food chains.and evaluating the main aspects of cultivation and production processes related to grain and vegetable raw materials.
  Knowledge and understanding capability
  By the end of the course, students will be able to:
  Understand the role of soil- and crop-related variables (e.g., soil properties, crop species) and management practices (e.g., tillage, irrigation, fertilization) to steer the yield performance and quality standards of grains and vegetables in sustainable agro-ecosystems.
  Describe the key stages of the cropping cycle of the most commonly cultivated grains and vegetables.
  Identify examples of grain and vegetable value-chains, including common and durum wheat, maize, barley, processing tomato, and canned peas.
  Recognize the main processes and technologies to preserve grain and vegetable raw materials.
  Apply evaluation criteria of grain and vegetable raw materials.
  Knowledge comprehension and utilization
  Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
  Apply the knowledge about soil-crop management in order to understand the whole production process and the relationships between cultivation methods and raw material quality.
  Apply the knowledge on processes and technologies to preserve grains and vegetables.
  Make suggestions (also at the field level) in order to sustainably enhance as much as possible the production process of grains and vegetables.
  Opinion autonomy
  At the end of the course, students will be able to:
  Assess field-level crop management and identify suitable corrective actions.
  Conduct objective, site-specific analyses of grain and vegetable production processes.
  Communication skills
  Students will be able to:
  Confidently utilize the scientific and technical language related to grain and vegetable production process,
  Clearly communicate their knowledge in both written and oral forms.
  Learning skills
  Student will be able to:
  Deepen their scientific and technical knowledge of grain and vegetable production systems.
  Enhance their ability to assess the quality of grain and vegetable raw materials.

CFU
Global diffusion of fruit growing. Definition and role of climate and soil on fruit production and quality. Life and annual fruit tree cycle.
1.0
Cultural practices and fruit quality. Short description and role of the training system, summer and winter pruning, fertilizer supply, irrigation, soil management, plant protection on fruit quality. Fruit classification and composition; nutritional values and methods to assess the fruit ripeness.
1.0
Example of a fruit chain. Fruit cold-storage: normal and controlled atmosphere. Fruit processing: fruit requirements for specific products (canned fruits, frozen fruits, juices, intermediate moisture fruits, fourth range fruits). Sustainable and organic production
1.0
Face-to-face lessons where the contents of the class will be taught.
Practical work concerning the pomological traits and the sensory evaluation of some fruit species.
One field trip in a fruit producing areas in order for the students to understand the production philosophy and to get familiar with the structure of the Italian fruit estates.
The slides utilized for the lessons will be weekly provided to the students.
The slides will be considered crucial for the subject learning and for the preparation of the exam.
CFU
Livestock production systems and models. Livestock environmental sustainability and adaptation to climatic changes
0.3
Overview of milk, beef, pork, supply chains and production trends
1.0
Overview of poultry and eggs supply chains and production trends
0.2
Quality of animal products
0.2
Overview of aquaculture and rabbit farming and production trends
1.0
Overview of snail and silkworm farming and production trends
0.3
The course teaching method will comprise classroom lectures (24 hours) which will cover both the theoretical topics of the course and a set of relevant real-life examples. The lesson will cover the whole syllabus and follow a sequential iter. The teacher will often intract with the student during the lectures, to stimulate individual involvement and discussion. Seminars on specific topics provided by invited key speakers may complement the lectures.
Topics
CFU
Sustainable agro-ecosystems for producing sustainable raw materials: how to enhance soil fertility and ensure high quality products; conservation soil-crop management practices and precision tools.
1.0
Steps in the agro-food chain, from cultivation to raw materials. How to assess and manage quality.
1.0
Cereal grains: Diversity of uses; Morphology and main characteristics; Production process; Assessing and managing quality.
0.5
Vegetables: Diversity of uses; Morphology and main characteristics; Production process; Assessing and managing quality.
0.5
Classroom-taught lessons.
Interactive lectures with question-and-answer sessions to share point of view on the case studies.
Outdoor classes, including visits to raw materials processing plants.

Oral examination. The assessment will be done by asking three questions related to the diffusion of the fruit growing, the factors of fruit agrosystem, life and annual cycle, cultural practices, pomological and nutritional evaluation of the fruits, elements of a fruit chain, cold-storage, requirements for processed products, sustainable and organic production (10 maximum marks each). As concerning each question, the mark will result as the addition of single aspects, as follows:
5: correctness of the given answer.
2: capability to make connections among subjects and to have a broad vision of the topic.
3: capability to synthesize information and to go right away to the point, addressing the subject with a proper language and in a critical and personal way.
The final exam consists of an oral interview during which the candidate should answer three main questions spanning the whole course syllabus, including the topics proposed during the seminars if any. The final mark will be based on: a) the actual knowledge of the subject and the overall handling of the matter; b) use of proper terms and clearness of exposition during the interview; c) ability to to propose original solutions and make connections between different topics and subjects.
Assessment consists of two components:
1. Group assignment (20% of the final grade)
Students will prepare and deliver a group presentation (3–4 students per group) on a selected topic related to sustainable crop production systems for grains and vegetables.
Each presentation (max 20 minutes) will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Scientific quality and accuracy of content
Ability to critically analyze sustainability aspects (yield, quality, environmental implications)
Use of appropriate technical language
Clarity of structure and effectiveness of presentation
2. Oral examination (80% of the final grade)
The oral examination will cover the course topics and related reading materials. Each student will be asked 2–3 questions.
Each question is scored out of 10, according to the following criteria:
Accuracy and completeness of the answer – up to 6 points
Use of technical language and critical thinking – up to 2 points
Ability to make interdisciplinary connections and demonstrate comprehensive understanding – up to 2 points

Chosen book
Westwood M.M., 1993. Temperate Zone Pomology. Timber Press.
Suggested books
Bavaresco L., Gardiman M., 2015. Italian Wine Grape Varieties, their Viticultural Characterization. Gianni Sartori Press, Ponte di Piave (TV).
Lespinasse J.M., Le Terme E., 2011. Growing Fruit Trees. Novel Concepts and Practices for Successful Care and Management. W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
Sansavini s. et al. 2019. Principles of Modern Fruit Science. ISHS
J.A.R. Lockhart-A.J.L. Wiseman, Lockhart & Wiseman's Crop Husbandry Including Grassland, Elsevier, 2014.
A.A. Perdon-S.L. Schonauer-K. Poutanen (Eds.)., Breakfast Cereals and How They Are Made: Raw Materials, Processing, and Production, Elsevier, 2020.
W.A. Gould, Tomato production, processing and technology, Elsevier, 2013.
M. Siddiq-M.A. Uebersax (Eds.), Dry beans and pulses: Production, processing and nutrition, John Wiley & Sons, 2012.

The main aim of the course is to provide students with a good understanding of the complex structure of a modern agri-food system, and of major changes in the structure and competitive environment as well as in terms of product and process innovation. The main focus is on understanding the evolution and the main characteristics of a modern agri-food system in developed economies, but few topics about developing economies will also be analysed. Agricultural policies and their effects on the evolution of the agri-food systems are also presented and analysed. Finally, the course aims also to provide a good understanding of the main factors affecting the modern global market of agri-food products.
At the end of the course, students are expected to show a good knowledge of the main structural characteristics of a modern agri-food system, the ability to describe and understand this system, as well as to analyse and identify main factors affecting the markets of agri-food products. The group work and presentation will also give them the possibility to develop students’ ability to identify the most important economic information, develop some analysis and make a good presentation of main results of their analysis.
This module aims to provide students the main concepts of microeconomic analysis at an intermediate level. Starting from key analytical tools such as equilibrium analysis and comparative statics, the module introduces the demand and supply analysis of agricultural and food markets using both theoretical and empirical models. Using constrained optimization, the module deals with consumer theory and production and cost theory that are then contextualized in profit-maximizing output choices in perfectly competitive markets and in monopolies.
At the end of the module, students will learn to use microeconomics tools to interpret choices of individual agents (consumers and firms) and their implications to market analysis. Students will learn how to choose appropriate empirical models to describe markets and the role of exogenous variables. Students will be able to derive demand and cost functions from specific utility/production functions and will understand the relevance of their properties. Finally, students will distinguish short-run and long-run concepts in deriving market supply in perfectly competitive markets and how this supply differs when considering profit maximizing choices of a monopolist.
This module prepares for later-year courses in which students learn how to study the economic aspects of the agri-food system in depth.

CFU
1. The modern agri-food system: origin, structure and trends

• Traditional agriculture: characteristics and organisation.
• Transition to a modern agri-food system: determinants ad effects.
• The modern the agri-food system: evolution and characteristics.
• Technical change in the agri-food system.
• Vertical disintegration of the production process and vertical integration.
• The supply chain and the value chain.
  1.0
  2. The agricultural sector in the agri-food system.
• Structural evolution of the agriculture sector.
• The agricultural enterprise.
• Role and characteristics of the family-run enterprise.
• Price fluctuations of agricultural products.
  0.5
  3. The food industry in the agri-food system.
• The evolution of the food industry.
• Competitive strategies of food firms.
• Innovation in the food industry.
• Internationalisation of food firms.
• Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs): costs and benefits.
  1.0
  4. Structure and evolution of the food distribution sector.
• From traditional distribution to modern distribution.
• Structure, concentration and development of the retail distribution industry.
• Competitive strategies of retailers.
• Performance and evolution of a modern food retail system.
  1.0
  5. The role of consumer in the agri-food system.
• Structure and trends of food regimes and food balances.
• Evolution of food expenditure.
• Evolution of consumer behaviour in developed economies.
• The role of quality.
• Globalisation of tastes and preferences and market segmentation.
  0.5
  6. Agricultural and food policies.
• The evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy and its effects
  on Italian and European agri-food systems.
• Agri-food policies and quality.
• Elements of policies for food safety policies.
• Tools for vertical and horizontal coordination, cooperation and competition.
  1.0
  The course is based on traditional lectures, supported by slides, and supplemented with some topic-specific discussions. At least one personal or group work is organized in order to give the students the possibility to get in touch with real data about main characteristics of the agri-food system of one country or main world market data for one specific agri-food product or a Multi-National Enterprise.
  CFU
  1. The functioning of markets:
• Demand and supply
• Elasticity
• Market equilibrium and comparative statics
  1.0
  2. The theory of consumer behaviour
• Preferences and utility
• Utility maximization and choice
• Income and substitution effects
• Market demand and surplus
  1.0
  3. The theory of production
• Production functions
• Cost curves
• Profit maximization and supply
  1.5
  4. Market forms:
• Perfect competition and monopoly
• Output choice and efficiency considerations
  1.5
  The teaching will consist in lectures following the course content, along with readings and problem sets involving students with an in-depth learning-by-doing approach. Emphasis is in practice problems and exercises, grounding the theory in the real agri-food system. Both graphical and mathematical approaches are used with an emphasis in understanding their linkages.

The assessment is based on an intermediate written test on the first half of the program and final written exam. The final grade is obtained as a weighted average of the results: 40-45% for the intermediate test, 50-60% for the final written exam. Each written test is structured on few (5 to 8) open questions; answers are evaluated with reference to coherence and completeness. Personal/group work can be evaluated in two different ways: if mandatory for all students, will be evaluated with a specific weight up to a maximum of 10% of the final grade. If this work is optional, the evaluation will add up to a maximum of 3 point to the final grade. The evaluation criteria will be clarified to the students when this work will be assigned.
Students must pass both written test with a grade greater or equal to 15/30 but the final weighted average must reach at least 18/30. All partial grades (intermediate written test and personal/group work) have a validity for one academic year. Passing the intermediate written test is NOT a prerequisite to take the final exam; in this case, in the final written exam the student will have to answer to questions on the entire program,
In case the current Covid-19 health emergency does not allow frontal teaching and exams in presence, there will be only one final written exam, to be performed on Blackboard.
Grading scheme
The final grade for the course is computed as follows:
Assignment (group work) 10%
Intermediate test (individual) 35%
Final exam (individual) 55%
Group work
Calass members will be divided in groups and will have the possibility to work online using Blackboard or the tools they prefer. Group composition will be communicated by the instructor after the intermediate exam. An assignment will be provided consisting of a set of exercises to be solved and will have to be delivered on Blackboard by a given deadline.
Individual assessment
The individual assessment consists in two written open-book exams to be held as a test in Blackboard:
A first intermediate test is optional, will last 75 minutes, and consists of a mix of multiple choice and open questions. The questions include problems related to the first two parts of the program concerning the functioning of markets and the theory of consumption behaviour. The test is passed if a minimum score of 18 points is reached. The test is valid only until the Easter examination session (March/April). After that session, the full test will have to be taken.
A final test is compulsory and will be different according to the results of the intermediate test.
Students that passed the intermediate test will have 75 minutes to answer a mix of multiple choice and open questions concerning the theory of production and market forms. The test is passed if a minimum score of 18 points is reached. The final grade will be obtained if both tests are passed and computed as a weighted average.
Students that did not pass or take the intermediate test will have 95 minutes to answer a mix of multiple choice and open questions concerning the whole program. The test is passed if a minimum score of 18 points is reached.
Student assessment aims at evaluating the student’s ability to reason and rigorously analyse the topics covered during the course, as well as the proper use of terminology and ability of problem solving to real world cases.

There is no specific course textbook. Reading material, references and presentations will be available on the web (Blackboard) the end of each section of the course.
D. Besanko-R. Braeutigam, Microeconomics, EMEA Edition. Wiley Publishers, 6th ed, 2020.
W. Nicholson-C. Snyder, Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, South-Western CENGAGE Learning, 11th ed, 2011.

The purpose of this course is to lead the student to a proper knowledge of rheology importance within the food industry. This knowledge, combined with case studies and seminars, will allow the student to critically identify the relationship occurring between rheological parameters of food products and their industrial processability (e.g., pumping, mixing, shearing, homogenizing), as well as with the felt perception during their consumption. In addition, the course will provide students with the basis for evaluating the behavior of liquid/creamy food products also from the thermal and colorimetric point of view.
In summary, at the end of the course, the student should be able to:
recognize the main operative parameters effect on rheological, characteristics of foods;
interpret experimental data and discriminate rheological behaviors of foods;
acknowledge the instrumentation needed to measure specific rheological, thermal, and colorimetric properties of food products.
The purpose of this course is to lead the student to a proper knowledge on the research and development activities performed in food companies. This knowledge, combined with case studies, will allow the student to know the steps in the new product development process, with specific reference to the dairy and bakery products.
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
Understand the role, organization and main activities of an R&D department of a food company
Acknowledge the phases and the technical aspects of the new product development process
Have the necessary basic knowledge to set up and accomplish the development of new dairy and bakery products.

Lectures in which concepts and work methodologies are presented. These lectures are coupled with case studies.
Group work and practical tutorials during which problems are solved with the methods seen during the lectures.
Different in-depth seminars held by experts from both industry and academia and/or participation in an educational visit (depending on the availability of experts and/or companies).
The teaching materials used during the lessons will be available on the common platform for students (i.e., Blackboard). The course slides are to be considered an integral part of the reference bibliography.
-
Classroom lectures will be held with the support of Power Point presentations.
Case studies carried out in working groups during the semester, with an illustration of the topics and aims of the work, and the requirements of the final report (PowerPoint presentation).
In-depth seminars held by experts from industry (depending on the availability of the experts).
The teaching materials will be made available to students in pdf format and uploaded on common platform for students (i.e., Blackboard). Their knowledge will form the basis for the assessment of learning in the subject.

The student will be required to take a final oral exam consisting of 2-3 theoretical questions and in the discussion of the working group. The latter will be carried out during the semester, with an illustration of the topics and aims of the work, and the requirements of the final report (PowerPoint presentation). The work groups may consist indicatively of a maximum of 4-5 students, and the contribution and role of each member must be explicitly indicated in the final report. The final report will be assessed with a mark out of 30. The final mark will be taken as a weighted arithmetic mean of the mark obtained in the oral test (with a 2/3 weight) and that obtained in the group work assessment (with a 1/3 weight). In the case of working students or students unable to participate in the group work, this must be communicated to the lecturer at the beginning of the course, who will then be able to provide appropriate alternative ways to cover this part of the program.
The student will be required to take a final oral examination consisting of 2-3 theoretical questions and in the discussion of the working group. The latter will be carried out during the semester, with an illustration of the topics and aims of the work, and the requirements of the final report (PowerPoint presentation). The work groups may consist indicatively of a maximum of 4-5 students, and the contribution and role of each member must be explicitly indicated in the final report. The final report will be assessed with a mark out of 30. The final mark will be taken as a weighted arithmetic mean of the mark obtained in the oral test (with a 2/3 weight) and that obtained in the group work assessment (with a 1/3 weight). In the case of working students or students unable to participate in the group work, this must be communicated to the lecturer at the beginning of the course, who will then be able to provide appropriate alternative ways to cover this part of the program.

M. BOURNE, Food Texture and Viscosity: Concept and Measurement, Academic Press, London, 2002.
J.F. STEFFE, Rheological Methods in Food Process Engineering, Freeman Press, East Lansing, 1996.
M. A. ANDY RAO - G.V. BARBOSA-CÁNOVAS, Rheology of Fluids and Semisolid Foods: Principles & Applications, Aspen Publisher, Gaithersburg, 1999.
Lecturer's notes
G.W. Fuller. New Food Product Development. From Concept to Marketplace. CRC Press, Inc., 2011.
H.R. Moskowitz, I.S. Saguy, T. Straus. An Integrated Approach to New Food Product Development. CRC Press, Inc., 2009
Weibiao Zhou, Y.H. Hui.. Bakery Products Science and Technology. John Wiley & Sons, 2014
D. Manley. Manley’s technology of biscuits, crackers and cookies. Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2011
P. Walstra, J.T.M. Wouters, T.J. Geurts. Dairy Science and Technology. CRC Press, Inc., 2006.
Lecturer's notes

The course aims to teach students about traditional and innovative packaging materials and the technologies for preserving and packing agri-food products. The course will also cover current regulations governing the suitability of materials and objects for contact with food.
At the end of the course, students will have acquired the procedural and methodological knowledge for identifying the analytical operations to perform to verify compliance with the technological, qualitative, and regulatory requirements of materials intended for contact with food, with a focus on the design for sustainability approach. They will also possess adequate knowledge for evaluating the shelf-life of foods according to the characteristics and needs of the product, the packaging material properties, and preservation conditions.
The skills acquired will enable students to make and direct suitable choices to meet the qualitative and functional requirements of food product packaging, guaranteeing and improving product shelf-life, consumer safety, and environmental sustainability.

1. Theoretical frontal and dialogue-based lectures aimed at presenting the subject's key concepts.
2. Frontal tutorials involve the assisted solving of numerical problems related to the calculation and prediction of food products’ shelf-life.
3. Assignment of working groups to resolve specific case studies related to the course topics.
4. Classroom seminars with company testimonials.
5. A possible educational visit to a food packaging company.

The exam will be divided into two main parts.
One part will focus on shelf-life and food contact materials legislation, and one part will focus on plastic materials for food packaging. Students will be divided into groups (of a maximum of 3 students) and given two assignments for the two parts. The assignments will be developed partially during the tutorial sessions and partially as homework. They will be presented at the end of the course with an oral discussion. Additionally, at the end of the course, students will be required to complete an individual written text consisting of two numerical exercises on shelf-life forecasting and evaluation.
Each assignment and the written text will be marked out of 30, and the final mark will be taken as a weighted arithmetic mean of the obtained marks. Working students or students unable to participate in teamwork are requested to communicate with the lecturers at the beginning of the course to define alternative assessment methods.

G.L. Robertson, “Food Packaging, Principles and Practices", 2nd ed., CRC (Publ.), 2005.
D.S. Lee-K.L. Yam-L. Piergiovanni, Food Packaging Science and Technology, CRC Press, Inc., 2008.
L. Piergiovanni-S. Limbo, Food Packaging. Materiali, Tecnologie e qualità degli alimenti, Springer, 2010.
P. Calà-Sciullo, Materiali destinati al contatto con gli alimenti, Chiriotti Editori, Pinerolo (To), 2006.
Lecturer's notes.
Aids related to specific topics will be provided during the course.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a basic but operational knowledge of process control and digitalization tools for the food industry. The course aims to introduce the main concepts of process control, with particular attention to the identification of process variables, disturbances, measuring devices, actuators and control strategies commonly used in food processing operations.
The theoretical concepts will be presented together with practical examples and case studies, to help students understand how process control can support product quality, process safety, energy efficiency and the stable operation of food production systems. Particular attention will be devoted to the control of basic unit operations used in food processing and to the use of process simulation as a tool for representing, analyzing and discussing food processes in steady-state and dynamic conditions.
In addition, the course will provide students with the basis for evaluating the potential of simulation and digital tools for the analysis and management of food industrial processes.
In summary, at the end of the course, the student should be able to:
Recognize the main process variables, disturbances, measuring devices and actuators involved in the control of food processing operations.
Understand the meaning and the basic principles of open-loop, closed-loop, feedback and PID control systems.
Identify the most suitable controlled and manipulated variables for basic food unit operations.
Propose appropriate control schemes for food processes.
Use process simulation tools, at a basic level, to represent unit operations and analyze the behavior of controlled food processes.
Evaluate, with a critical approach, the advantages and limitations of process control and digitalization tools in food industrial applications.

-
Lectures in which concepts and work methodologies are presented. These lectures are coupled with case studies.
Numerical tutorials during which problems are solved with the methods seen during the lectures
Different in-depth seminars held by experts from both industry and academia (depending on the availability of the experts).
The teaching materials used during the lessons will be available on the common platform for students (i.e. Blackboard). The course slides are to be considered an integral part of the reference bibliography.

The student will be required to take a final written exam and a discussion of the working group. The written exam consists of: (i) 5 multiple-choice questions worth a total of 5 points; (ii) a process flow diagram on which to place controllers based on the knowledge acquired during the course, worth a total of 15 points; (iii) one open-ended question worth a total of 10 points. The working group will be carried out during the year, with an illustration of the topics and aims of the work, and the requirements of the final report (PowerPoint presentation). The work groups may consist indicatively of a maximum of 2-3 students, and the contribution and role of each individual member must be explicitly indicated in the final report. The final report will be assessed with a mark out of 30. The final mark will be taken as a weighted arithmetic mean of the mark obtained in the written test (with a 2/3 weight) and that obtained in the group work assessment (with a 1/3 weight). In the case of working students or students unable to participate in the group work, this must be communicated to the lecturer at the beginning of the course, who will then be able to provide appropriate alternative ways to cover this part of the programme.

Bhuyan, Manabendra. Measurement and control in food processing. CRC Press, 2007.
Anderson, Norman A. Instrumentation for Process Measurement and Control, Third Editon. Crc Press, 1997.
Vyas, J. Jaidev, Balamurugan Gopalsamy, and Harshavardhan Joshi. Electro-Hydraulic Actuation Systems: Design, Testing, Identification and Validation. Springer, 2018.
Marchal, Pablo Cano, Juan Gómez Ortega, and Javier Gámez García. Production Planning, Modeling and Control of Food Industry Processes. Springer International Publishing, 2019.