Corso di Laurea in Tecniche Erboristiche

The student-based learning objectives of this course include knowledge on the chemical composition of food, main transformation processes and their impact on food quality and safety. General framework of EU legislation on food safety and quality will be also introduced providing students of practical tools for real-world application of basic concepts.
Dietary Products Course provides adequate knowledge about the nutritional properties, about the chemical and technological characteristics of dietary products.

Understand the chemistry underlying the properties and reactions of various food components: including water, carbohydrates, protein, lipids, other nutrients and food additives. Understand the major chemical reactions that limit shelf life of foods: lipid oxidation, Maillard reaction, microbial degradation etc… Understand risks related to the presence of toxic compounds (food-native toxicant, contaminats, residues etc..).

The student acquires, based on fundamental notions of general diet, knowledge of the most important categories of food supplements, functional foods and dietary products including the specific legislation and presentation of these products for sale in pharmacies.

The course will be delivered through different modalities in an integrated ambient by  e-learning (documents and lessons on Moodle), in virtual classroom and in a blended class configuration.
On Moodle students will find: video-lessons; practical exercises, self-assessment tests, scientific literature, seminars and webinars dealing with the discipline. Al material will be presented to the students and contents discussed through forum and virtual classroom. A selection of video-lessons from Visiting Professors will be also made available.
The main objective of this teaching modality is to create a continuum between different situations: virtual classroom, self-learning and critical discussion.

Water for human consumption, mineral water. EU and National legislation, qualification parameters. Water activity and shelf-life. Milk and dairy products: milk, physical and physico-chemical properties, general composition, Milk processing: thermal treatments, creaming, heat treatments and markers of treatments (enzyme residual activity, Maillard reactions, lattulose formation). Dairy products: fermented milk products, yogurt, sour milk pro-biotic and pre-biotic products. Cream and butter production. Cheese. Aroma and taste of dairy products.
Edible fats and oils: compositive characteristics, biosynthetic peculiarities Processing: extraction, refining, bleaching, deodorization, deacidification, fractionation, interesterification, hydrogenation. Olive oil legislation: denomination of extra virgin olive oil, peculiarities, marker of authenticity and quality.
Cereals and cereal products: wheat and rye origin, general composition, proteins (gluten composition anc chemical characteristics), carbohydrates (starch and gelatinization), lipids and other constituents. Milling, milling products (wheat flour characteristics and legislation), backing products (bread and pasta).
Wine: grape cultivars, growth and harvest, must production and chemical composition. Fermentation, Aroma compounds, pigments and chemical modification during storage and aging. Sparkling wines. National and EU legislation.
Food packaging: pre-requisites for materials adopted in food packaging, migration test conditions, simulants. Vegetable food, antioxidants and antinutrients; examples.

Food analysis
1) Water: Chemical Oxygen Demand, Hardness, Iron and chlorides determination;
2) Wine: ethanol content, total and volatile acidity, total anthocyanes, sulphates;
3) Milk: density, fat content, dry extract, pH and acidity (°SH);
4) Oil and Fats: free acidity, peroxide number, iodine value, saponification value.

Fundamentals of human nutrition and health and nutrition goals. Security needs, RDA and RDAs, Food Guidelines. Energy demand: basal metabolism, diet-induced thermogenesis, thermoregulation, physical activity assessment methods. Macronutrients: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, protein requirements, micro-nutrients: vitamins, minerals, classification, biological and nutritional aspects, food sources, essential nutrients (fatty acids, amino acids). Production techniques and food storage: effects on the nutritional value of foods, nutrient-induced modification processes. Food Safety and HACCP in herbal medicine. Food Additives: definition, toxicity, some examples of the various classes. Food labelling. Concept of Claim. Health products: functional foods, dietary supplements, foods for special diets. Definitions, legal frameworks. Examples of various classes: to gut's target (probiotics and prebiotics) to blood's target (phytosterols, ω-3 fatty acids and ω-6, in primary and secondary prevention purposes and epidemiological evidence), antioxidants, herbal ingredients in products with different target (for weight control, drainage, the mood, sleep promotion, ergogenic, adaptogenic). Quality and safety of herbal ingredients. Dietary aspects of developmental age, lactation and weaning, pregnancy and lactation, in old age. Dietary products for subjects with metabolic disorders: food allergies (especially to cow's milk), gluten (gluten-free products), diabetes (diabetic products, artificial sweeteners), lactose intolerance.