Food packaging

- Know the advantages of food packaging.
- Know the characteristic physicochemical properties of each of the materials used as food packaging.
- Know the packaging-food interactions.
- Know the predictive models of the life time of a packaged product.
- Know the incidence of packaging on the environment.

- Topic 1: Introduction. Definition and functions of the container. Characteristics of the ideal container. Advantages of packaging.
- Topic 2: Food packaging. General characteristics. Glass containers. Plastic and complex packaging. Metallic packaging. Paper and paperboard. Active and smart packaging.
- Topic 3: Life time of packaged products. Importance of the prediction of the life time of packaged products. Models.
- Unit 4.- Packaging and environment. Problems of urban solid waste. Optimization of the surface / volume ratio. Ecobalances

- W. E. Brown, Plastics in Food Packaging. Properties, Design and Fabrication, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1992.
- Sina Ebnesajjad (Editor) Plastic Films in Food Packaging, Materials, Technology and Applications 1st ed. Elsevier, 2012
- D. S. Lee et al. Food Packaging Science and Technology. CRC Press. 2008.
- B. Moody, Packaging in glass. Hutchinson Benham, London, 1977.
- G. L. Robertson, Food packaging, New York: Marcel Dekker, 3rd edition, 2012.
- C. L. Wilson, Intelligent and Active Packaging for Fruits and Vegetables. CRC, 2007.

Optional subject matter specific competences:

Optional subject matter specific competences:
COP14- Acquire advanced and demonstrated knowledge, in a scientific and technological research context, a detailed and well-founded understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects and of the work methodology related to packaging technologies, materials used in food packaging, the application of predictive models of the life time of a packaged product and the container-food interaction.


Basic and general skills:
MINSTA
Basic and General Competences:
CG2 - Know and be able to manage the traceability aspects throughout the entire food chain, for the detection and control of risks and identification of critical points, from the reception of raw materials to the moment of consumption.
CG4 - Know the methods and technologies of production and packaging that allow obtaining safer, healthier and more ecological food, as well as knowing its repercussion on the global quality of food.
CG5 - Know the methods in food production that facilitate the surveillance or monitoring of self-control systems in food companies.
CG6 - Being able to intervene in the design and development of healthier foods.
CG8 - Know the food legislation, its application and interpretation.
CG9 - Manage information sources specialized in nutrition and food, its technology and security.
CB7 - That students know how to apply the acquired knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or little-known environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of ​​study
CB8 - That students are able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of formulating judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
CB9 - That students know how to communicate their conclusions and the latest knowledge and reasons that support them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way
CB10 - That students possess the learning skills that allow them to continue studying in a way that will have to be largely self-directed or autonomous.


Transversal competences of the optional subject:

CT1 - Analysis and synthesis capacity.
CT5 - Ability to use information and communication technologies.
CT6 - Ability to search, analyze and manage information from various sources.
CT7 - Ability to solve problems.
CT9 - Ability to transmit knowledge.
CT11 - Ability for autonomous learning.
CT12 - Ability to use information in a foreign language.

The program is designed to be taught in any of the scenarios foreseen as a consequence of COVI-19. Theory classes explain the theoretical concepts established in the syllabus of the subject. The essential aspects of the topics will be provided in pdf format to the students, either individually by email, or through the virtual classroom. In the seminar classes the problems and questions previously proposed are analyzed and discussed, either by means of bulletins or in the theory classes themselves.
Optionally, works on proposed activities can be carried out through the virtual classroom.

At the end of each topic, students must answer a series of questions / problems about it, orally or in writing. After weighting, the scores obtained will constitute 70% of the final grade for the subject. If necessary, students will be able to recover one or more topics in a final exam, which will keep the structure of the previous tests.
The resolution of the activities proposed in the virtual classroom and in the face-to-face tutorials will be considered contributions for the continuous evaluation of the student. The score received will be maintained for the second opportunity.
In the second opportunity, only a final exam will be taken, which will keep the structure followed throughout the course, but the marks obtained during the first opportunity will not be kept.

Competences evaluated in the first and in the second opportunity: COP14, CG2, CG4, CG8, CG9, CB7, CB8, CB9, CB10, CT1, CT5, CT6, CT7, CT9, CT11, and CT12

Training activity Total hours Presence (%)
Exhibition classes 44 41
Seminars 59 41
Tutorials 4 100
Works 27 0
Exams 16 25

Attendance to classes, continuous study to the rhythm of the theoretical presentations and the carrying out of activities as they are proposed are highly recommended.

The course will be taught interchangeably in Galician and Spanish.