FST 159 - New Food Product Ideas

(3 units) FALL QUARTER
Instructor

COURSE GOALS: The course is intended to familiarize students with the initial stages of food product development including the definition and articulation of a problem, the generation of ideas to solve the problem, the screening of ideas, and the formal presentation of a new product concept. Students will learn the importance of group communication and teamwork and how to conduct and terminate a project in an orderly manner.

ENTRY LEVEL: Upper division standing with background coursework in food science, biological sciences or the physical sciences. A variety of science backgrounds among the students will enhance the learning experience. Preference will be given to students with senior or graduate level standing.

Prerequisites: FST 50; BIS 2A; PHY 7A, 7B, and 7C; CHE 2A, 2B and 2C

COURSE FORMAT: One 120 minute lecture and group discussion each week.

TOPICAL OUTLINE: 

  1. Overview of food product development process
  2. Project management
  3. Problem definition and articulation
  4. Creative thinking
  5. Individual idea generation techniques
  6. Group idea generation techniques
  7. Idea screening procedures
  8. Oral and written presentation of project activities

GRADING AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Grades will be based on class participation (20%), class assignments (35%), written final report (30%), and peer evaluation (15%). The final report will provide evidence of individual and group efforts on a project and include a title page, table of contents, summary, review of literature, methods, results, discussion and list of references.