Simulation of Microbiological Changes During Food Processing

Junior/senior-level students in an engineering curriculum. Also suitable for graduate students with sufficient engineering background in a food science curriculum. The general content involves integrated process and microbiological (and chemical) simulation to predict safety in various scenarios.

 Learning Outcomes

1) Design to ensure food safety by computing final bacterial count from initial count, growth, and inactivation and comparing this with the FSO or Performance Criterion obtained from risk assessment

2) Design equivalent processes for the processing step (e.g., various combinations of control parameters such as temperature and time)that meet the above Performance Criterion

3) Utilize simulation-based process/product design tools to accommodate spatial variability in a finite mass of food product and biological variability that lead to important variations in microbial inactivation in a real food process