Food and Agro Processing for Non-Scientists

The Department of Nutrition and Food Science in collaboration with the Departments of Family and Consumer Sciences, Crop Science, the Livestock and Poultry Research Centre and the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, have developed six modular courses under the project Food and Agro-Processing for Non-Scientists. This was done with funding from the Skills Development Fund, Phase II.

The target groups for this short course are food and agro processors. Please find below a synopsis on each module:

Module 1: Understanding the science of foods and the need for processing: This module will introduce you to basic food science and processing principles and technologies. You will understand the physicochemical, sensory and nutritional properties of foods that can be preserved through processing.

Module 2: Hygienic plant design, equipment and scale up in food processing: This module will introduce you to equipment/plant design, how to set up equipment in small organizations and the scaling up of formulations from the bench top / kitchen recipe to commercial production.

Module 3: Food safety standards, regulation and quality assurance: This module will teach you all you need to know about processing plant sanitation, how to apply for food certification and how to ensure that foods put on the market are microbiologically safe, with optimum physicochemical and sensory quality.

Module 4: Competitive food processing: You do not want to miss this module if you are interested in running a food business or already running one as you will acquire the skills to make your products more competitive through consumer-led product development and how to market your products.

Module 5: Branding, labelling, packaging, shelf life testing of foods: Are all important for marketing products in the food and agro processing industry. With this module, you will learn how to brand, label and package your products to attract consumers. You will also be taught how the shelf life of products are determined.

Module 6:  Product specific – Agro-processing: In this module, people involved in animal husbandry or crop production and are interested in adding value to their produce and products through agro-processing will benefit from hands on training and skills development.

This short course is currently being piloted for a moderate fee of GHS 200.00 per module from August to September 2018.

Kindly Contact 0268858960/0200812456 for further information/clarification.