270040 Thematic Course: Sensory analysis, Aroma and Chemometrics

Details
Department of Food Science
Earliest Possible YearMSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year
DurationOutside schedule
 
Credits15 (ECTS)
Course LevelMSc
Tema
 
ExaminationFinal Examination

written examination and oral examination


All aids allowed

Description of Examination: Each group prepares a project report at the end of the course. On the last day of the course each group makes an oral presentation of their results for the rest of the participants.

Weight: Project report: 80% Oral presentation: 20%



13-point scale, external examiner
 
Organisation of TeachingThe weekly distribution of lectures and other activities will vary, as the lectures and seminars are concentrated during the first weeks, while the project work may increase during the course.
 
Block PlacementBlock 4
Week Structure: Outside schedule
 
Teaching LanguageEnglish
may be conducted in Danish/Swedish
 
Optional PrerequisitesFødevarekemi, Sensory and consumer science or Exploratory data analysis/chemometrics
 
Restrictions20
 
Areas of Competence the Course Will Address
Competences obtained within basic science:
Ability to evaluate possibilities and limitations of sensory analytical techniques, multivariate statistics and chromatographic techniques when applied to food quality problems.

Competences obtained within applied science:
Ability to apply the techniques mentioned above on a concrete food quality problem

Competences obtained within Ethics & Values:
Being aware of the different aspects of food quality.
Ability to reflect on the relevance of different aspects of food quality in different situations.
 
Course Objectives
To give the student an understanding of the principles and methods being used to measure and interpret different aspects of a product's sensory quality.

 
Course Contents
In the thematic course advanced theories and tools for sensory and instrumental measurement of quality of food are introduced.
The functioning of the different sense modalities are explained from anatomical, (neuro)physiological and psychological perspectives in relation to physical and chemical stimulation, e.g. from foods. Advanced sensory science methods and phenomena are presented and discussed, for instance: thresholds (detection, discrimination and identification), signal detection theory, supra threshold psychophysics and scaling, descriptive profiling, time-intensity.
The instrumental analyses will typically be aroma analyses, and principles for sampling aroma from foods are described as well as separation and identification techniques (GC-MS, GC-olfactometry).
State-of-the-art multivariate data analytical methods will be described and used to interpret the relation between sensory analyses, instrumental analyses, and different process or raw material conditions. Furthermore, the course will give a practical insight into planning of scientific experiments from definition of the scope, to experimental design, practical measurements and data analysis.

 
Teaching And Learning Methods
The course includes lectures, seminars and project work. The lectures are concentrated in the start of the course to give theoretical background for seminars and project work. The seminars will among other things include case studies where authentical datasets are to be processed using chemometric techniques. In the project, a food quality problem will be dealt with in groups of 2-3 students. The project will both include literature studies and experimental work in the form of targeted sensory analyses and instrumental analyses, mainly using GC-MS and GC-olfactometry. The project work will result in a report that is presented orally at a seminar at the end of the course.
 
Course Litterature
Scientific papers and chapters from relevant books.
 
Course Coordinator
Mikael Agerlin Petersen, map@life.ku.dk, Department of Food Science/Quality and Technology, Phone: 35333243
 
Study Board
Study Committee LSN
 
Course Scope
lectures25
project work342
Colloquia16
supervision29

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