How Food is Made. Understanding Food Processing Technologies
Have you ever wondered how your food is processed before it reaches your plate? Find out with this online course.
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours
How Food is Made. Understanding Food Processing Technologies
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
Learn more about processing technologies and the foods that are affected
Please note this course runs without facilitation
Food processing isn’t a new concept, however, many people might not understand how and why it happens. On this course, you will improve your knowledge of food processing technologies and build confidence in the processed foods on the market.
You will cover the history of food processing, from its origins to current modern industrial processes. You will explore the advantages and disadvantages of food processing technologies and understand their impact on health, safety, quality, and sustainability. Upon competing this course, you will feel empowered to make more informed decisions about the food you eat.
(Please note that the term ‘food processing’ is also often used to describe the formulation of food products and the addition of extra ingredients such as preservatives, stabilizers, fortifiers and flavourings. This course focuses on the technologies rather than the formulation.)
Syllabus
Week 1
Why do we process food?
Welcome
Find out about what you will be learning, who will be guiding you and how the course is taught.
What is food processing?
Surface our presumptions about trustworthy food.
Why do we process food?
The complexity of the food system
Reflections
Reflect on your fears or concerns about food processing.
Week 2
How do we process food?
Welcome to Week 2
Reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of food processing.
Homogenisation, Pasteurisation, Canning
Here we introduce you to a range of food processing techniques widely used in industry, and the products they create.
Drying and smoking
Learn about more techniques including spray-drying, freeze-drying and smoking foods for flavour.
Reflections
Keeping food tastier for longer. Reflect on whether your attitudes to food processing have changed.
Week 3
How is the food industry innovating?
Welcome to Week 3
Why do we need innovation in food processing?
Innovative techniques
PEF, HPP and irradiation
Packaging
Storage problems and how technology is helping
Reflections
New ways of keeping food tastier for longer. Reflect on whether your attitudes to technological advances in food processing have changed.
Week 4
How does the EU ensure our food is safe, nutritious and sustainable?
Welcome to Week 4
How food industry regulation is reported in the media
How and why regulations are made
EU food law and case study. Novel foods
What do UK consumers think about food processing?
EUFIC UK Consumer Survey - how it was carried out and why
Do we need food processing?
Summing up and what next?
Who is this accredited by?
The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and learn at your own pace. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Explore the principles of food processing and gain an understanding of both traditional and modern industrial techniques
- Justify the importance of food processing to society in terms of health, safety, quality and sustainability
- Engage with the debate on how beneficial certain processing techniques are to human health
- Evaluate EU law and regulations
- Reflect on the challenges of feeding growing populations safely and sustainably
Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone interested in learning more about the food they eat.
The Educator team won’t be available to answer questions or respond to your comments during this course. However, we encourage you to interact and support each other by posting your thoughts and comments and sharing your knowledge with other learners
Who will you learn with?
I am a reserach associate at DIL e.V. focusing my work on alternative processing technologies and their effect on the stability and bioaccessibility of naturally present health-beneficial components.
I am Professor of Food Science at the University of Reading and contribute to FutureLearn as an educator.
I am a manager at EUFIC. I am involved in a wide variety of research projects examining consumer insights and behaviour on topics related to food, nutrition, food technology and sustainability.
Who developed the course?
EIT Food
EIT Food is Europe’s leading food initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted.
DIL
DIL is a research institute working in food tech, analytics, sustainability and food data. DIL forms a bridge between science and practice and supports its partners in the innovation process.
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
This activity has received funding from EIT Food, the innovation community on Food of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the EU, under the Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
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