Welcome to the course

Hello and welcome to ‘An Introduction to Food Science’ a European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food course, produced by Queens University, Belfast (QUB), University of Aarhus, Denmark, University of Madrid (UAM), University of Turin (UNITO) and The Spanish Research Council (CSIC).

About the course

The integrity of food is of increasing concern due to a number of highly publicised food contamination and authenticity scares. In addition, there are currently 3.5 billion people suffering from malnutrition, whilst the worldwide numbers of overweight (approx. 2 billion) and obese (over 500 million) people is growing. There is an increasing need to address these concerns and help society make smart, sustainable and healthy food choices.

At present, society is exposed to dietary and food related information across a range of media sources, from national newspapers to personal blogs and social media pages. This information can often be inaccurately reported and contradictory to current recommendations. There is therefore a need for accurate, reliable and trustworthy information from key experts working in the food sector to help consumers to make informed food choices.

This course is designed to address these concerns; create an awareness and understanding of the food system among consumers; and empower citizens to make safe, healthy and sustainable food choices.

Over the next four weeks, we will cover topics including: diet and health; food contaminants and control of food safety; ethical issues and sustainability considerations; and consumer information and responsibilities.

We hope you enjoy!

Introduce yourself

Before we begin, we would love to hear something about you and your interests in the agri-food sector. Please introduce yourself now in the comments. You may want to include:

• What country you are based in
• Your interest in food science
• What you hope to learn from the course

About EIT Food

This course has been developed in partnership with EIT Food.

EIT Food is Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted. EIT Food are equipping learners all over Europe and beyond with the skills and knowledge they need to make a lasting impact on the food sector.