PLNT*6110 Fruit and Vegetable Technology

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THIS COURSE IS CANCELLED FOR F22.
 
The following description is for the course offering in Fall 2021 and is subject to change. It is provided for information only. The course outline distributed to the class at the beginning of the semester describes the course content and delivery, and defines the methods and criteria to be used in establishing the final grades for the course.
 

The course is primarily intended to address science and technology aspects of fruits and vegetables, with specific reference to storage, packaging, quality, processing, products and ingredients, health regulatory properties and biotechnology issues. Methods of instruction include lectures and seminars. Students are evaluated during their seminar presentations, term papers and participation in discussions.

Instructors:

Teaching Assistant:

TBA

Credit Weight:

0.50

Course Level:

  • Graduate

Academic Department (or campus):

Department of Plant Agriculture

Campus:

Guelph

Semester Offering:

  • Fall

Class Schedule and Location:

Please refer to Web Advisor for class schedule and location.

Learning outcomes:

Upon completion of the course successfully;

  1. The students will increase their knowledge about the fundamental processes in fruits and vegetables. This may include linking physical characteristics to structure, composition, quality, taste etc., in terms of their physiology and biochemistry.
  2. They will enhance their knowledge about fruit and vegetable preservation, and how processing and modern technologies can be used to enhance the shelf life and quality of stored/processed products.
  3. The students will be able to develop strategies for improving technologies, used in minimal processing, processing into products, stabilization of components, maintaining nutritional characteristics, food safety etc.
  4. The students will be able to effectively communicate the gained knowledge to clients in the agri-food industry.
  5. The students will be able to critically examine the impact of agri-food industry based on fruits and vegetables on economy, globalization, food security, and health.

Lecture Content:

Teaching and Seminar Topics:

Introduction: Fruits and vegetables in world food habits, Evolution of fruits and vegetables, human selection, fruit and vegetable utilization through time, production, storage, processing, future trends.

Food and nutritional value of fruits and vegetables: The carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, antioxidants, secondary plant products etc. Fruit and vegetable quality and its relation to the constituent molecular components.

Consumption of fruits, vegetables and processed products: Fruits, vegetables and processed products in present day diet, Juices, sauces, juice and herbal combinations, partially processed products.

Principles of postharvest storage and preservation of quality: Physiology of fruits and vegetables after harvest. Postharvest storage methods to preserve quality. 

Biochemistry of fruits and vegetables: Metabolic pathways, carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism during fruit and vegetable development and storage. Importance of cell wall and membrane metabolism to fruit and vegetable quality, biosynthesis of secondary plant products, biochemical engineering of metabolic pathways.

Processing technologies of fruits and vegetables: Pastes, sauces, juices, dehydration, manufacturing and marketing, quality issues.

Partial Processing of fruits and vegetables: Ready-to-eat preparations, salads, mixes etc. Production, packaging, storage, marketing.

Health and safety issues in fruit and vegetable processing:  Pathogens in fruits and vegetables, means of controlling the pathogens, shelf life, quality and safety of minimally processed fruits and vegetables.

Packaging of fruit and vegetable products: Metabolism of minimally processed fruits and vegetables, materials used in packaging, gas exchange, modified atmosphere storage.

Fruits and vegetables and their products in relation to health: Functional food ingredients, nutraceuticals, antinutrients etc. and their mechanism of action, relation to human health.

Labs & Seminars:
Labs:

There are no labs

Seminars:

The students can select a seminar topic of their choice. The seminars are of 40 minutes duration including a question/answer period of 10 minutes for every seminar. The seminars will be evaluated and each seminar will carry 50% of the marks. The final examination is a term paper on a selected topic relevant to fruit and vegetable technology.

Seminar Topics- Examples:

  1. Fruit and vegetable storage, packaging
  2. Fruit and vegetable juice processing and packaging
  3. Microbial safety issues in fruits, vegetables and processed products
  4. Health regulatory components in fruits and vegetables
  5. Flavour and volatile components
  6. Minimal processing of fruits and vegetables
  7. Preservation of fruits, vegetables- freezing, drying, ionizing radiation, osmotic dehydration
  8. Food additives from fruits/vegetables
  9. Management and utilization of waste from fruit and vegetable processing industry
  10. Emerging trends in fruit- and vegetable technologies 

Or, any other topics relevant to Fruit and Vegetable Technology

Course Assignments and Tests:

Assignment or test Contribution to final mark
Term Paper - A topic relevant to fruit and vegetable technologies 40%
Seminar 50%
Participation 10%

 

The term paper is due on a specific date told to you in class. There will be a 10% deduction for late submissions.

For the term paper, students may choose a topic of their interest relevant to the fruit and vegetable industry. The term paper should be a high quality description of the topic, described in about twenty pages, double spaced, including diagrams, figures, tables etc. This should be submitted by 3rd November or earlier to provide an early evaluation of performance.

Seminars will be assessed focusing on the content, clarity, quality of the slides, organization of slides, presentation style and relevance to the outcomes. Students are advised to consult with the instructor about the suitability of presentation well before the actual. Slides for the seminar can be submitted well before in order to obtain comments to improve the quality.

The final grades will be calculated from the marks obtained for the term report and evaluation of seminar presentation. Student participation in the course will be evaluated as individual attendance in the class, discussions during lectures and the seminars.

Final examination:

There is no final examination.

Course Resources:

Required Texts:

Simpson, B.K (Ed). 2012. Food biochemistry and food processing. Wiley-Blackwell, Iowa, pp896.

Kader, A.A. (editor). 2002. Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops (3rd edition). University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 3311, 535pp.

Paliyath, G., Murr, D.P., Handa, A and S. Lurie (Eds) (2008) Post harvest biology and technology of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Wiley-Blackwell, Iowa, pp 495.

Paliyath, G., Subramanian, J., Lim, L.-T., Subramanian, K.S., Handa, A.K., and Mattoo A.K. (Eds) (2018) Postharvest Biology and Nanotechnology. Resources will be provided.

Texts are available in the library

Recommended Texts:

None

Lab Manual:

There is no lab manual for this course.

Other Resources:

Gross, K., C.Y. Wang, and M.E. Saltveit (editors). 2002. The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks. USDA Agricultural Handbook #66 (available electronically at: http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/hb66/index.html).

Journals

Postharvest biology and technology (https://www.journals.elsevier.com/postharvest-biology-and-technology/)

Scientia Horticulturae (https://www.journals.elsevier.com/scientia-horticulturae/)

Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science (http://journal.ashspublications.org/)

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/publications/en/

Field Trips:

N/A

Additional Costs:

There are no additional costs.

Course Policies:

Grading Policies:

Late submissions will be subjected to a reduction of 10 % of the total marks.

Course Policy on Group Work:

N/A

Course Policy regarding use of electronic devices and recording of lectures:

Electronic recording of classes is expressly forbidden without consent of the instructor. When recordings are permitted they are solely for the use of the authorized student and may not be reproduced, or transmitted to others, without the express written consent of the instructor.

Other Course Information:

University Policies

Academic Consideration

When you find yourself unable to meet an in-course requirement because of illness or compassionate reasons, please advise the course instructor in writing, with your name, id#, and e-mail contact. See the academic calendar for information on regulations and procedures for Academic Consideration:

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University of Guelph students have the responsibility of abiding by the University's policy on academic misconduct regardless of their location of study; faculty, staff and students have the responsibility of supporting an environment that discourages misconduct. Students need to remain aware that instructors have access to and the right to use electronic and other means of detection. Please note: Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of guilt. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before submitting it. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part could be construed as an academic offence should consult with a faculty member or faculty advisor.

The Academic Misconduct Policy is detailed in the University Calenders:

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For more information, contact CSD at 519-824-4120 ext. 56208 or email sas@uoguelph.ca or visit the Student Accessibility Services website: http://www.uoguelph.ca/csd/.

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