Generic Syllabus

(there will be modest variations from year to year)

New and Improved[1]

No Fat [2] – No Cholesterol, Fewer Carbs than last year

Prof. Tom Montville

Contact information:

Office: FS 207 hours: MWF 5:15-6:05 a.m., by arrangement[3], or “drop in.”

Phone and voice mail: 732- 932-9611 ext. 222.[4] e-mail: montville@aesop.rutgers.edu

Web Site: www.foodsci.rutgers.edu/103/

Course description from the catalog:

“Overview of the major food components, major food related diseases in the U.S., the bases for food preservation, food legislation and current food issues.”

Comments from previous students:

“After taking this course, I think when I eat, and eat when I think.” “Dr. Montville kept me awake most of the time.” “Boring material made interesting” (ouch) “…makes learning about food easy and fun”

Learning objectives:

a.) to provide a basic understanding of the biology, chemistry, and engineering sciences that comprise the food we eat.

b.) to provide enough scientific knowledge for the student to make intelligent decisions about current and future food related controversies.

c.) to motivate interest in food science as a subject and potential career.

d.) to provide lessons for life and tools for life-long learning[5].

SUGGESTED READING[6]:

Text: Essentials of Food Science, Vickie Vaclavik. 2^nd edition. please buy it and read it.

Web sites[7]:

a) www.foodsafety.gov gateway to government food safety sources

b) www.biotechbasics.com obvious purpose, who’s behind this site?

c) www.cspinet.org “consumer viewpoint” interesting sections on biotech and food safety, what Rutgers University scientists have ties to industry?

d) www.ift.org. Site of the Institute of Food Technologists, roam around, look under “publications”, then Scientific Status Summaries. What is this institute, anyway?

e) www.food-irradiation.com read when appropriate

f) www.consumersinternational.org see “campaigns and issues” then “food”

g) www.nfpa-food.org. See “Food Science” then “backgrounders”. Also take a look at the legislative summaries under “Public Policy.”

Grading[8]:

Three scheduled one-hour exams, suitable for grading by ScantronÒ. There will be at least one opportunity for “Extra credit” . The final course grade will be the average of the three exams. In the past, the final course grades have been curved[9], but each year I feel less and less generous. Students who miss an excessive[10] number of classes may have their final grade reduced by ½ a letter value. Coming to class really helps! Asking (or answering) questions helps. Participation can push your grade over if you are on the boarderline.

A personal plea from the prof about a large lecture course….

I would really like to get to know you or at least treat you like a valued student, not a number. If you contact me by phone or e-mail, I will be in touch. But please give me a last name, phone number, and other contact info. I’m happy to chat after class. Before it, I’m concentrating on getting ready for the lecture. Please do not ask for my lecture notes, my handwriting is bad and my spelling worse. No one sees my notes but me. Pleaseeeee try to come on time and not disrupt the class with talking, cell phones, text messaging, gum popping, or snoring. Offenders may be publicly embarrassed.

Classroom courtesy code: Do not take phone calls, wander in and out the room, or carry on conversations with your friends, it’s distracting to students who want to be here and are trying to learn. If you don’t want to be here, don’t come! (No kidding.) Students who are disrespectful will be disrespected. Yes, I know that two paragraphs are devoted to the same issue. That’s how serious I am about it.

Honesty is the best policy:

This part is not a joke. Anyone caught cheating on the exams will be dealt with harshly. It is not that hard to do well in this class; do not risk your academic career by cheating. Cheating is a high risk, low payoff gamble.

The Science of Food

Generic Schedule (The course goes something like this)

Theme	Class	Date	Topic	Reading (chapter)
Introduction			“Guess the expiration date” –course mechanics
			Food and Culture- the Maya Cosmos, Inter-being, The American Pit Stop, Cornfused :
Food is Chemistry You are organic, and pretty wet			Water – the secret key to increased profits
			Carbohydrates –crystals, calories, candy
			Fats –more calories, more flavor
			Proteins –the muscle of metabolism
			Proteins continued
			Vitamins, Minerals, Residues, Antibiotics
			Exam 1
Food is Biology The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly			The Digestive Process 9
			Nutrition- Calories Count
			Nutrition, Diet, and Health; Supplements, NLEA and Pyramid
			Intro to microbes and keeping food safe Guess who’s coming to dinner? Bad Bacteria :
			Microbial Surveillance at Rutgers guest :
			More foodborne bacteria – as if you haven’t had enough
			Food Fads and Facts, How to Sort them Out :
			Preservatives, Pesticides, Natural Toxicants :
			“Organic” (carbon based?) & “Natural” Food
			Exam 2
			Mass Production of Food 9
Food is Engineering Energy and mass management			Introduction to Food Engineering
			Heat Preservation you can beat it if you heat it
			“Cold Pasteurization” (euphemism for “irradiation”) 9
			Nonthermal Processing and Dehydration – an incredibly dry lecture 9
			Genetically Engineered Food- Is there DNA in your food? :
Food is many other things			Food legislation and Bioterrorism :
			Food Packaging and Labeling
			Exam 3

*Letters correspond to web site listing on page 2

: power-point notes posted on class website, 9 in class video

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[1] Well, at least for you.

[2] The course, not the professor.

[3] Just call or e-mail to arrange for a time that meets your schedule.

[4] Don’t be afraid to call after hours and leave a message with that question that is “too stupid to ask.” I’ll answer it in the next class.

[5] “Life long learning” is a University teaching goal.

[6] Assigned reading clarifies and re-enforce material covered in lecture.

[7] When these letters are referred to in the syllabus scheduled reading assignments, visit and read the web site.

[8] A necessary evil. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, or even a food scientist, to earn an A. But if you skip class, don’t do the reading, and bomb the exams, don’t expect an “A,” or a “B”… or a C. Don’t even bother to show up, receive a “U’”.

[9] I will not go through the exercise of generating separate curves for each of the three exams. The curve will be fair but not as generous as previous years. Students have suggested that I “raise the bar.”

[10] If I told you how many that was, it would encourage people to skip (“that many” –1) classes.