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:
- Overview of food product development process
- Project management
- Problem definition and articulation
- Creative thinking
- Individual idea generation techniques
- Group idea generation techniques
- Idea screening procedures
- 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.