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Clemencia Chaves Lopez
Food science and technology - 1st year

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  • Clemencia Chaves Lopez is Associate Professor of Microbiology (AGR/16) at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Teramo and member of the teaching body of the PhD course in Food Science at the same University. She graduated in Biology at the Faculty of Science in Valle University - Colombia. In 1996 is of Doctor of Research (Ph. D.) in Food Biotechnology of Bologna University. She frequently teaches in masters on Food Biotechnology. She participates in Research Programs involving Italian and foreing Universities and food industries. She carry out her researches on microbial ecology, physiological characterization of yeast and moulds, on their involvement in fermented food production and preservation.
     

    INFO ABOUT THE COURSE
    The course is structured in two modules
    The first module concerns the knowledge of:
    • The main microorganisms involved in naturally and industrially fermented food products.
    • The design of microorganisms and suitable environments in which to carry out the desired processes aimed at the biotransformation of food raw materials in fermented foods as well as in microbial metabolites of industrial interest.
    The second module focuses on:
    • The methods used to quantify, identify and characterize microorganisms involved in fermentation processes and food ecosystems.
    • The interpretation of the results in order to have a deeper understanding of the protocols used.

    OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

    • Knowledge and understanding: The course will provide the scientific knowledge and the application of the microorganisms to obtain microbial metabolites and foods. In addition to the knowledges for the identification and enumeration of microorganism in foods.
      Knowledge of the basics of Microbiology, analytical chemistry and biochemistry will be necessary to understand the phenomena of food fermentation and alteration and the methodologies to be used to identify the microorganisms responsible for food processing and alteration.
    • Applying knowledge and understanding: Providing the appropriate knowledge to design, develop and optimize the fermentative process and to choose the better microbiological techniques to count and identifity the microorganisms in food ecosystem, the students will be able to:
      - to manage, optimize and control microbial metabolic activities in biotechnological processes aimed at biotransformation of substrates and raw food materials into microbial metabolites and fermented foods.
      - Search and identify microorganisms in foods thus preventing food diseases, and food deterioration.
    • Making judgements: Judgment autonomy will be acquired through guided laboratory practices and cases to be resolved. As a result, the student will be able to perceive the main issues related to food fermentation and food analysis and will be able to evaluate the possible risks or benefits deriving from the fermentative and technological processes applied to food transformation and storage and will be able to design and conduct appropriate experiments, interpret the results and draw conclusions.
    • Communication: Students will be able to:
      - Describe the most appropriate techniques used in food fermentations and for the microbiological analyzes of foods .
      - Written technical microbiological reports, from collaborators, superiors and subordinates.
      - Analyze results with logical, and critical thinking.
      - Define problems and to plan hypotheses and strategies in research
      - Working in group capacity.
    • Learning skills: The student will be able to extend his / her knowledge and will be able to find, consult and interpret the main technical journals and national and international regulations in the industry.
      In order to help improve learning skills, the student is stimulated to seek out more information than the material provided or instructed by the teacher.



    PREREQUISITE AND PREPARATORY

    • Prerequisite: General Microbiology, Food Microbiology and Biochemistry
    • Preparatory: None

    MODULE 1

    Introduction to the course: overview on the aims of the course, the topics addressed, the recommended textbooks, how the final examination will be carried out.
    Unit 1. Introduction to industrial microbiology- brief history.
    Unit 2. Natural fermentation: - Fermented foods Definitions and Characteristics, - wild ferments and culture-dependent ferments. (backslopping). Microorganisms involved in food fermentation and fermentation chemistry of the following common fermentations: -Fermentations producing textured vegetable protein meat substitutes in legume/cereal mixtures. -Lactic acid fermentations. -High salt/savory meat-flavored/amino acid/peptide sauce and paste fermentations. - Alcoholic fermentations- Acetic acid/vinegar fermentations. - Alkaline fermentations. Leavened breads.

    Unit 3. Selection of starters: Traditional techniques of selection and improvement of micro-organisms of industrial interest: primary and secondary screening, mutagenesis, protoplast fusion, recombinant DNA.
    Unit 4. Microbial metabolites:- Primary and secondary metabolites: types, characteristics and kinetics of production.- Control and regulation of microbial metabolism.- Strategies for the accumulation of microbial metabolites.
    Unit 5. Industrial fermentations: - Substrates for industrial fermentations, - Main criteria for the classification and differentiation of industrial fermentations: - Types of fermentations definition, process, advantages and disadvantages. – Control of Mathematical modelling of microbial growth, metabolites production and substrate consumption. - Industrial fermenters. Cells Immobilization.
    Unit 6. Downstream process: The choice of recovery process , solid-liquid separation methods, cells disruption methods, purification of the product methods.

    Laboratory work will be related to the: (i) screening of microorganisms of industrial interest; ii) selection of starters for food fermentation iii) Observation and management of a pilot scale fermenter, iv) optimization of fermentation parameters for the production of microbial metabolites; v) analysis of the experimental data collected during the lab activities. Practical units are usually assessed by experimental report and/or short written assignment and/or written exam.

    Classroom exercises: discussion about i) spontaneous food fermentations benefits and potential risks for human health; ii) challenges of the classical metabolic engineering. Iii) rapid selection of biological models in the optimization of fermentation processes.

    Teaching methods:
    Class lectures, laboratory practices, working in teams where students can work together to solve technical problems and seminaries held by food sector experts.
    The teacher also delivers bibliographic material and didactic support such as articles and reviews on the scientific topics covered for each module.

    Assessment methods:
    The technical-scientific knowledge and skills, but also the improvement of the language used in the sector will be evaluated as described below.
    - Practical units are usually assessed through an experimental report and/or a short written assignment.
    - The student, through a power point presentation, addresses the production of a particular fermented food or metabolite of industrial interest. During the presentation the professor asks about the choice of the particular production process and the techniques used for its optimization.

    MODULE 2

    The course will provide the necessary operational tools to apply the concepts of industrial microbiology to the laboratory. In addition, course aims to provide students with the ability to define the analytical methods and procedures to be adopted to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the quality / process and safety indicators of a food along its entire production chain starting from the raw material.
    After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:
    - Demonstrate your abilities to develop hypotheses and design experiments using the scientific method,
    - Analyze and interpret the results of various microbiological procedures, and apply these approaches to similar circumstances.
    - Improve the student ability to tackle microbiology problems using quantitative reasoning.
    - Communicate and collaborate with people from various fields.
    - Effectively convey essential microbiological topics in written and oral form.

    Unit 1: Method for the evaluation of microbial growth: Plate counting, MPN, direct direct direct direct direct counting of microscopic cells, viable and non-viable, Turbidometry.

    Unit 2: Quick methods for determining the number or activity of microorganisms: ATP-bioluminescence, flow cytometry, DEFT, microcalorimetry, gas chromatography, conductometry.

    Unit 3: Methods for the identification and characterization of microorganisms: Morphological analysis as a tool for the identification of molds; biochemical tests; analysis of structural components of microbial cells: protein profiles, membrane fatty acids; molecular methods for the identification and characterization of microorganisms (G+C%, genetic probes, PCR, RAPD, PFGE, ribotyping, DGGE, sequencing.

    Unit 4: Methods for determining the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts and microbial metabolites: Spot agar, agar diffusion, microdilution, diffusion of volatile compounds.

    Laboratory work:
    - Isolation and purification of microorganisms from different food matrices.
    -Identification of selected microorganisms using a series of biochemical tests
    - Extraction, purification, and amplification of DNA from microorganisms selected by the students
    -Detection of amplicons 16S/18S/ITS and preparation of samples for sequencing
    -Management of computer programs for the rDNA sequence analysis.
    -Design of experiments, including necessary controls. These will include experiments on bacterial growth kinetics and physiology. in addition to their relative ability of the microorganisms to resist the effect of biopreservants.

    Assesment method:
    The student, through a power point presentation of a study case, addresses a topic related to a microbiological problem present during the production or shelf life of a food, which will assigned by the teacher. During the presentation the professor asks about the choice of specific techniques used for the quantification and identification of the causative agent of the anomaly and possible strategies to avoid contamination and microbial development.

    - Microbiologia degli Alimenti. Casa Editrice Ambrosiana. Antonietta Galli Volonterio.
    - Food § Microbiology: Foundamentals and Frontier. Edited by Doyle P.M.,Beuchat, L.R., Monteville, T.J., 2th ed. ASM Press, Washington, D.C.
    - Modern Approaches for Microorganisms’ Identification. In: Buszewski, B., Baranowska, I. (eds) Handbook of Bioanalytics. Springer, Cham. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63957-0_40-1
    - Lecture notes provided material for the teacher.


    COURSE BOOKS

    - Industrial Microbiology: An Introduction.Michael J. Waites, Neil L. Morgan John S. Rockey Gary Higton.
    - Manual of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology.Richard H. Baltz, Arnold L. Demain, Julian E. Davies.
    - Beneficial Microorganisms in Agriculture. Editors: Ram PrasadShi-Hong Zhang. 2022.
    - Microbial Biotechnology: Role in Ecological Sustainability and Research. Editor(s):Pankaj Chowdhary, Sujata Mani, Preeti Chaturvedi. 2022.
    - Food, Fermentation, and Micro‐organisms. Author(s):Charles W. Bamforth, David J. Cook. 2019.
    - "Microbiologia Industriale", Manzoni Matilde casa editrice ambrosiana.
    - Lecture notes provided by the teacher.
    - Papers on specific topics suggested by the teacher.

    WEEKLY LESSONS

    Marzo:

    Martedi  5, 12, 19, 26 dall 11:00 alle 13.00  Aula 11 Polo G. D'Annunzio,           

    Giovedi  7,14, 21  dall 14:00 alle 16.00  Aula 11 Polo G. D'Annunzio, 

    Giovedi  28 dalle 14.00 alle 18:00  Aula Motti (Plesso Silvio  Spaventa).

       

    Aprile: 

    Martedi  2, 9, 16, 23, 30  dalle 11:00 alle 13.00  Aula 11 Polo G. D'Annunzio       

    Mercoledi  17 dalle 14:00 alle 18:00 Aula Motti (Plesso Silvio Spaventa)

    Giovedi  4,11,  dalle 14.00 alle 18:00. Aula Motti (Plesso Silvio Spaventa)

    Giovedi 18 dalle 14:00 alle 16.00 Aula 11 Polo G. D'Annunzio, 

     

    Maggio

    Martedi  7, 14, 21, 28 dall 11:00 alle 13.00  Aula 11 Polo G. D'Annunzio,   

    Mercoledi  29 dalle 14:00 alle 18:00 Aula Motti (Plesso Silvio Spaventa)       

    Giovedi  2, 9, 16, 23  dalle 14:00 alle 18.00  Aula Motti (Plesso Silvio Spaventa)       

    Giovedi 30 dalle 14:00 alle 16:00 Aula 11 Polo G. D'Annunzio