Overview

The Food Science and Technology (FST) programme at UNIVEN provides expertise in food processing and preservation with core modules in food chemistry, nutrition, food microbiology, post harvest technology and food engineering, food packaging, marketing, and quality assurance.

Food Science is a coherent and systematic body of knowledge and understanding of the nature and composition of food material and their behaviour under the various conditions to which they may be subjected. Food technology is the application of food science, engineering and mathematics to the processing, preservation, storage and utilisation of foods. Food science and Technology are so inextricably linked that they are usually treated as one field of study.

In the department, Food Science and Technologists are specially trained to develop professional abilities and to help in the alleviation of technical skills (especially with regard to redress) to be applied in the food industry, legislation, research and education and marketing sub-systems of the food production system. There is also opportunity to do postgraduate research in most areas of FST. Research activities are geared towards assisting farmers and small scale food processors to add value to primary agricultural products and reduce food insecurity. The programme is geared towards establishing the University as a centre of tertiary education for rural development and to respond to the rural development needs and the alleviation of poverty in Southern Africa.

Links to Food Science Organizations/Associations:

www.saafost.org.za
www.iufost.org
www.iseki-food.net

Below is a list of the modules offered by the department.

Below is a list of recent publications of the Food Science and Technology staff.

Professor I A Jideani

• Agu HO, Jideani IAand Humphrey JU (2009) Quality of dambu prepared with different cereals and groundnut. Journal of Food Science and Technology 46(2):166-168.
• Talib MA, Abubakar MM, Jideani IA and Hassan A (2009) Use of Jiben seeds extract to manufacture soft white cheese. American Journal of Applied Sciences 6(4):551-554.
• Martins JL, Jideani IA, Yusuf, IZ and Tahir F (2010) Comparative consumer acceptability and food utilization analysis of three maize varieties. Nutrition and Food Science 40(3):323-329.
• Jideani VA, Oloruntoba RH and Jideani IA (2010) Optimisation of fura production using response surface methodology. International Journal of Food Properties 13(2):272-281.
• Jideani VA and Jideani IA (2010) A model for education and promotion of Food Science and Technology among high school students and the public. African Journal of Biotechnology 9(31):4826-4835.
• Martins JL, Jideani IA, Yusuf IZ and Tahir F (2010) Rhizosphere mycology of three maize varieties. International Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment-JFAE 8 (accepted).

The following is a list of staff members in the Department of Food Science and Technology.