Module Identifier |
BS24410 |
Module Title |
HEALTH AND THE FOOD CHAIN |
Academic Year |
2005/2006 |
Co-ordinator |
Dr Glyn Jenkins |
Semester |
Semester 2 |
Course delivery |
Lecture | (20 x 1 hour lectures) |
|
Practical | |
Assessment |
Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours written exam | 70% |
Semester Assessment | Continuous assessment of practicals | 30% |
Supplementary Exam | written exam | 70% |
Supplementary Assessment | resubmission of all failed coursework or alternative. | 30% |
|
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
-
Demonstrate an understanding of the central role of food in governing human health.
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Explain the factors that influence the production, quality and distribution of food.
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Assay the quality of food through appropriate experimentation.
Aims
This module is dedicated to the topic of food, since food has the greatest impact not only upon human health, but also upon the use of human resources and impact on the environment. It aims to show on the one hand how human ingenuity has increased food production, and on the other how food quality and supply may be compromised.
Brief description
Food production, quality and distribution, and how these relate to human health.
Content
Origin and evolution of food animals and plants.
Animal care and welfare, intensive breeding, breeding strategies, plant breeding.
Modern and alternative approaches to food production, molecular methods of crop improvement, GMOs and risk assessment, organic farming.
Development, productivity and sustainability of crop production, strategies of pest control.
Food quality, microbiology, probiotics, allergy, adulteration, contamination, labelling, authentication and food standards, food processing and additives.
Nutrition, nutritional values, malnutrition, obesity, eating disorders, food distribution, fair trade and meeting the global needs for food.
Practicals:
Food microbiology, processing, authentication or calorimetry.
Module Skills
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Chrispeels, M.J. & sadava, D.E. (2003) Plants, genes, and crop biotechnology
Jones and Bartlett
Glick, R & Pasternak, J.J. (1998) Molecular biotechnology
ASM Press
Houdebine, L-M. (2003) Animal transgenisis and cloning
Wiley
Slater, A & Fowler, M. (2003) Plant biotechnology
Oxford
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5