NUTR 440
Experimental Foods

David L. Gee, PhD
Professor of Food Science and Nutrition

 

Please note that this page is being transferred to a CWU-Blackboard site.

(Fall 2007)

Course Syllabus

NUTR 440 - EXPERIMENTAL FOODS  -   Fall 2007
PROFESSOR DAVID L. GEE, PhD

Lecture: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday   1-2PM
Laboratory:              Section 1: Monday    2-5PM
                                Section 2: Tuesday   2-5PM

Learner Outcomes

1. The student will learn and apply knowledge about the chemical and physical roles of food components in simple and complex food systems .

2.  The student will become familiar with the subject of food research, food research methods (subjective and objective), research report writing, and research presentation and be able to complete a food research project.

3.  The student will produce a final research paper describing their food research project that is suitable for publication in a peer reviewed professional scientific publication such as the Journal of Nutrition in Recipe and Menu Development.

4.  The student will produce a poster presentation describing their food research project that would be suitable for presentation at a national professional meeting such as the Annual Meeting of the American Dietetic Association.
 

Required Texts

Foods: Experimental Perspectives., 5th ed., M. McWilliams, 2005
Laboratory Methods for Sensory Evaluation of Foods. Canada Department of Agriculture & Laboratory 1-4 protocols. Available at The Copy Shop.

Fees and other costs

$20 materials fee: the fee covers the cost of the materials used in all laboratory assignments as well as provides a base budget that student research teams will use for the food research project.

$10 per student poster printing: students are expected to produce a professional quality poster presentation summarizing the findings of their food research project.  Generally, posters are printed on the large format printer located in the Education Technology Center located in Black Hall.  The cost of printing a 36" by 48" poster is approximately $20-25.
 
 

All late work will be penalized by 10% per day.  All work is due at the beginning of the class period.

The Experimental Foods Research Project is designed to give the Food Science and Nutrition student the opportunity to design, implement, analyze, and present and original research project.  By conducting this research project, the student will have an understanding of the research process that is the basis of Food Science and Nutrition Science.   Graduates from CWU's Food Science and Nutrition program will be more critical evaluators of future research findings in their field that they become aware of as a result of this assignment.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the Research Project, the student will be able to:
1.  Write a satisfactory research proposal
2.  Design an experiment with appropriate controls
3.  Manage their time to complete the project by the expected deadlines
4.  Evaluate their data using acceptable statistical tests
5.  Write a research manuscript suitable for publication in a professional journal
6.  Present their research in a poster format in a public setting

Research Project Objectives:
1.  To develop a food product(s) that is substantially modified to improve the nutritional quality
        of that food.
2.  To measure the effects this modification has on the sensory and physical qualities of that food.

Human Subjects Review Program - Responsible Conduct of Research Certificate
To conduct research utilizing human subjects (such as this research project), all investigators at CWU must obtain an RCR Certificate.  To obtain the RCR Certificate, you must do two things.  Prior to October 6, you must complete Module 1 of the online Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research tutorial.  A link to that tutorial can be found on the button bar at the top of this web page.  You CAN NOT begin recruiting subjects for your project until you have completed this tutorial.  It generally takes about 30 minutes to complete this online tutorial.  Staff members at CWU's Human Subjects Review Program receive an automatic report of who successfully completed the tutorial (there are quiz questions in the online tutorial).  Secondly, you must attend the presentation given by the staff members of CWU's HSRP on October 6 during our normal class period.

Project Requirements:
1.  Students will work in self-selected groups of THREE.
2.  RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL BRIEF
The final manuscript will be written to meet requirements for RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL BRIEFS articles as described in 'Guidelines for Authors' for publication in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.  These guidelines can be found in their January issue or online at www.eatright.org or on the "Instruction to Authors" link on the button bar of this web page
3.  RESEARCH POSTER
Posters must be professional in appearance and clearly describe the research protocol, results, and conclusions/applications of your research project.  The poster must be understandable on its own.  The poster must be able to fit onto a 4 foot by 6 foot bulletin board.  Posters are generally printed using the large-format printer in the Education Technology Center in 127-L Black Hall.  The 36" x 48" poster costs about $25 to print.  This cost is to be shared by the students on each research team.

4.  Minimum research project guidelines (for a 'C' grade) include:
    a.  two or more difference tests with a minimum of 10 judges
    b.  two or more intensity tests with a minimum of 10 judges
    c.  one or more preference tests with a minimum of 10 judges
    d.  one or more objective tests with a minimum of 5 replicate measurements
    e.  two or more general references (textbook, reviews) and one or more specific references
        to original research publications.
    f.  a control food product and two or more variations of that food product
        note:     These are general guidelines.  Expectations may vary depending on the complexity of the
                     food product being tested and the nature of the food product.

5.  Research Proposal and Preliminary Project Idea

    Preliminary Project Idea
    This is a brief one paragraph statement describing what you intend to study in this proposed research project. It should not be more than two or three sentences in length.  It is due as described in the
    course schedule.  The purpose of this statement is to get your group moving forward quickly in deciding on a project concept.  It also allows the instructor to provide some quick feedback to make sure
    that you are on the right track.

    Research Proposal
        The format of the Research Proposal shall include the following headings:
    a.    Title page (title, name of principal investigators)
    b.    Introduction (outlines problem in general, brief review of the literature)
    c.    Specific Aims (what do you specifically hope to find from your research?)
    d.    Proposed Methods  (describe the protocol you will follow to meet your Specific Aims)
    e.    Estimated Budget and Special Materials/equipment needed. (consult Lucinda Engle and the cost estimate handout she will provide)
    The Research Proposal (sections b, c, d) shall not exceed 4 pages (double spaced, 12 point font)
 
 

Food Research Project Timeline
 

Date	Activity
Week 1 (9/20-22)	Establish research topic, research literature/past projects
Week 2 (9/25-9/29)	Establish research topic, research literature/past projects, preliminary testing, obtain any special ingredients, preliminary project idea due 10/2.
Week 3 (10/2-10/6)	Research literature/past projects, preliminary testing, begin writing research proposal
Week 4 (10/9-13)	Research proposal due (10/9), preliminary testing, research food literature, recruit sensory evaluation judges
Week 5 (10/16-20)	Prepare food samples, conduct sensory and objective data collection
Week 6 (10/23-27)	Prepare food samples, conduct sensory and objective data collection
Week 7 (10/30-11/3)	Prepare food samples, conduct sensory and objective data collection.  Organize data, submit for statistical analysis
Week 8 (11/6-10)	Analyze data, write research manuscript
Week 9 (11/13-17)	Write research manuscript, prepare poster/oral presentation
Week 10 (11/20-12/1)	Research manuscript due (11/27), poster presentations (12/1), peer reviews due (12/5)

 
 

TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE:
 
 

Date	Activity	Required Reading
9/20	Course overview Introduction to Experimental Foods	Foods: Experimental Perspectives Chap 1
9/22	The Research Project	Chap 2
9/25	Evaluation of Product Quality:             Sensory Evaluation Week One Laboratory:                    Sensory Evaluation Laboratory*                             (due one week after data/stats given to you)	Chap 3
9/27	Evaluation of Product Quality:  Sensory Evaluation	Laboratory Methods for Sensory Evaluation pp 5-19
9/29	Evaluation of Product Quality:  Sensory Evaluation
10/2	Statistical Analysis Week Two Laboratory:                    Objective Evaluation Laboratory * Preliminary Project Idea Due (one paragraph specific aims statement)	pp 19-22, 29-31
10/4	Statistical Analysis, Laboratory Report Writing	pp 41-59
10/6	Human subjects in research - Cindy Johnson and Ruth Ann Stacy - CWU Human Subjects Review Committee Administrators
10/9	Objective Evaluation of Foods Week Three Laboratory:                    Video: The Making of a Junk Food Research Proposal Due	Chap 4
10/11	Objective Evaluation of Foods
10/13	Principles of Baking
10/16	Baking Applications  Week Four Laboratory:               Shortened Cakes Laboratory *	Chap 17
10/18	Exam One
10/20	Tour of Seattle Food Businesses	Chap 18
10/23	Leavening Agents Week Five Laboratory:                        Lipid Shortening Power Laboratory *
10/25	Baking Applications Starches  Megan Erickson's Starch Presentation	Chap 9
10/27	Starches  "How Beer Works" from howstuffworks.com Beer Production: Malting, Brewing, and Fermentation
10/30	Fats and Oils Week Six Laboratory:	Chap 11
11/1	Fats and Oils
11/3	Fats and Oils in Food Products	Chap 12
11/6	Food Preservation  Week Seven Laboratory:	Chap 20
11/8	Food Preservation
11/10	Veteran's Day Holiday
11/13	Exam 2 Week Eight Laboratory (Monday only):  Graphs: Good, Bad, and Ugly
11/15	Food Preservation
11/17	Overview of Proteins	Chap 13
11/20	Meats Week Eight Laboratory:           Preparing Research Posters, Monday lab only	Chap 15
11/27	Meats Research Project Manuscripts Due Laboratory Clean-up Week
11/29	Meats
12/1	Poster Presentations     Science Building Foyer, Time 12noon-2pm       Posters must be up by 12 noon       Presenters must be present from 1:00 -1:50pm
12/5	Final Exam  4-6pm      Peer reviews due

 
 
 
 
 

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