Food Biotechnology laboratory course

Abstract

The students will carry out complete processes for the production of important fermented foods, from raw material analysis to quality control of final products. Experimental blocks include: fermentation in state of the art bioreactors; cheese production in a modern pilot cheese plant and cheese ripening; cider fermentation with immobilized cells; beer brewing; and Kambucha production.

Objective

To demonstrate the operation of complete fermentation processes for the production of selected fermented foods and bioingredients; to understand the effects of important parameters of fermentation processes, including raw materials, and their control; to analyze the effects of defined fermentation conditions on the quality of final products; using an example of a fermented food with potential health benefits, to develop a rational approach to discriminate between scientific and nonscientific information and sources.

Content

This laboratory course includes five experimental blocks: - Fermentation in state of the art bioreactors: preparation of equipment, media and starter culture, monitoring and control of the productive phase, analysis of samples for biomass and metabolic products, data interpretation and calculation of kinetics, comparison of different fermentation conditions; - Cheese production in a modern pilot cheese plant and cheese ripening: manufacturing of model cheeses (Emmentaler and Tilsiter) at Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux, cheese ripening, monitoring of chemical and microbiological composition and hygienic quality of cheese, estimation of process efficiency and yield calculation, comparison of different fermentation conditions; - Cider fermentation with immobilized cells: yeast immobilization in Ca-alginate gel beads, fermentation of apple juice with immobilized yeasts, microbiological and chemical analysis, data interpretation; - Beer brewing: carry out production of beer at pilot scale (30 liters), including all processing steps from raw plant material to fermentation and maturation in vessels, monitoring metabolites and microbial parameters. - Kambucha production: perform and monitor a 2-Liter-fermentation process of a tea enriched with sugars and inoculated with a backslop of a long-time kombucha fermentation; analysis of growth dynamics and metabolite production; presentation by groups of students of the theoretical background and state of knowledge in kombucha fermentation, marketing, suggested health effects and the Swiss legislation.

Resources