Chemical processes play an important role in food technology—from raw materials to finished food products. In this module, you’ll learn the fundamentals of general and inorganic chemistry. You’ll learn how chemical reactions occur, what substances are made of, and how these properties can be applied in food technology. This module discusses chemical reaction systems (acid-base reactions, pH, redox reactions) and provides insight into inorganic compounds that play a role in food processing: from leavening agents to trace substances. Special emphasis is placed on the effects of chemical processes on the production, transport, and shelf life of food.
Mathematics is the foundation of all engineering disciplines, including energy engineering, food technology, and environmental engineering. Its applications are woven throughout the entire degree program.
In this course, you’ll start with algebra, calculus, and systems of linear equations before moving on to more complex topics such as differential equations, Fourier analysis, and statistics. This knowledge is essential for modeling technical processes, calculating fluid flow, or analyzing thermodynamic processes.
The Physics module teaches food technology students the fundamental physical principles that are important for the development and optimization of food processing. The focus is on mechanics, vibrations, and electromagnetism. These fundamentals help students understand the behavior of solids and liquids during food processing and storage—for example, in the analysis of pressure, viscosity, or flow behavior, as well as the investigation of forces and motions that occur in various processes such as mixing, conveying, or heat transfer in food systems.
The module ties in with later courses such as fluid mechanics, physical chemistry, and heat transfer.
The module combines theoretical fundamentals with practical applications and mathematical models to apply physical concepts to food production and processing technology.
How can we ensure a sustainable food supply for a growing global population? This module shows you how food technology systems are used and developed to reduce resource consumption and environmental impact, thereby ensuring a safe, economical, and sustainable food supply. You will analyze food production and manufacturing processes and learn about sustainable approaches to energy and resource use. This module is closely linked to the modules on Food Technology, Renewable Energy, and Investment Analysis and Plant Design.
An important component of this module is the three-day seminar “Team-Oriented Learning and Working” (TLA), which takes place during the field trip week. In this seminar, you’ll get to know your fellow first-semester students better and develop social and soft skills. To this end, you’ll work in teams to explore key concepts in the areas of “communication,” “teamwork,” and “personality,” and you’ll collaborate to present a topic related to these concepts. In addition to gaining knowledge of soft skills, you’ll also develop your presentation and communication skills.
Engineering Mechanics covers the fundamentals of the design and stability of engineering systems. You’ll learn how forces act on structures and how these structures must be designed to function safely and efficiently. In structural mechanics, for example, you’ll analyze the stability of containers and systems. These modules are closely linked to materials science as well as fluids and flow. Your knowledge will later be applied in the design of manufacturing and transportation equipment or in assessing the stability of food products. Here, you’ll learn to evaluate the strength of food products and that the bite resistance of chocolate should be lower than the breaking force of a tooth.
This module provides students with fundamental knowledge of computer science specifically geared toward applications in food technology. Students learn how to use computer-based tools and techniques to solve problems in food technology.
Fundamentals of Computer Science: An introduction to the essential concepts and principles of computer science, including data structures and algorithms.
This module provides a comprehensive introduction to the use of computer-aided design (CAD) software, with a specific focus on applications in food technology. The goal is to equip students with the ability to create both 2D and 3D models necessary for the planning and optimization of production facilities and processes in the food industry.
The module’s content covers the fundamentals of CAD technology, including the operation and application of common CAD software. Special emphasis is placed on the modeling and simulation of production processes to enable efficiency gains and optimizations. Real-world examples from the food industry illustrate the practical benefits and potential applications of CAD technology.
The course consists of a combination of lectures and hands-on exercises that enable students to directly apply what they have learned in theory. In addition, students complete a project in which they develop and present their own CAD project. This module is closely integrated with the fields of engineering mechanics and fluid mechanics. Your knowledge of CAD and materials science will be applied in later projects, such as the design of wind turbines or energy-efficient buildings.
"Fluid" is the general term for liquids and gases. Most foods are processed as fluids: This includes all liquid beverages, as well as foods such as quark or yogurt, and materials such as flour, cereals, or ground coffee, which are transported and processed as solids in the gas phase. In this lecture, you will learn about the forces acting on solids in fluids and the forces that fluids exert on adjacent components (e.g., pipe walls). However, the course also focuses on describing the material properties of fluids and their flow behavior. This is important when it comes to the design of agitators or pumps.
Mathematics is the foundation of all engineering disciplines, including energy engineering, food technology, and environmental engineering. Its applications are woven throughout the entire degree program. You’ll start with algebra, calculus, and systems of linear equations before moving on to more complex topics such as differential equations, Fourier analysis, and statistics. This knowledge is essential for modeling technical processes, calculating fluid flow, or analyzing thermodynamic processes.
This module provides the foundation for understanding energy and chemical processes in technical systems. You will learn how energy is stored and converted in chemical reactions and examine the thermodynamic principles that are of crucial importance in food engineering. A key focus is on the laws of thermodynamics: You’ll learn how energy is transferred as heat and work within systems and how these processes can be optimized for efficiency. Topics such as enthalpy, entropy, and free energy will help you analyze chemical and physical processes.
In physical chemistry, you’ll delve into the molecular fundamentals and explore phase equilibria, chemical reactions, and the interactions between substances. You’ll learn how to calculate and balance the various types of energy, how to define efficiency, and what conclusions can be drawn from these calculations. You’ll gain an understanding of the amounts of heat required for food processing (e.g., UHT pasteurization of milk or the use of steam for disinfection) and how a cold storage room works. Here, you’ll learn about and calculate quantities such as heat, cold, work, and power. This course provides an important foundation for lectures on topics such as heat transfer and thermal and chemical processes.
Engineering Mechanics covers the fundamentals of the design and stability of engineering systems. You’ll learn how forces act on structures and how these structures must be designed to function safely and efficiently. In structural mechanics, for example, you’ll analyze the stability of containers and systems. These modules are closely linked to materials science as well as fluids and flow. You’ll later apply this knowledge when designing manufacturing and transportation equipment or assessing the stability of food products. Here, you’ll learn how to evaluate the strength of food products and that the bite resistance of chocolate should be lower than the breaking force of a tooth.
Organic chemistry is an important foundational subject that provides you with a deep understanding of the properties, structures, and reactions of organic compounds. These compounds play a crucial role in food processing and production.
You’ll learn the fundamentals of carbon chemistry, including molecular structures, functional groups, and reaction mechanisms. A key focus is on organic compounds relevant to food technology, such as hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, and polymers. You’ll also learn how organic substances can be used in biochemical processes or in the production, processing, and preservation of food.
Through laboratory exercises, you will practice the synthesis and analysis of organic compounds. For example, you will investigate the properties of raw materials in the food industry and the chemical transformations that occur in food. This module lays the foundation for the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable foods and their production processes.
Especially with a natural product like food, every measurement is subject to fluctuations—nothing can truly be measured and determined with absolute precision. No concentration value for ingredients can ever be achieved exactly across countless packages.
When is a measurement significant? When can we truly draw conclusions based on laboratory results or market data and begin optimizing our processes?
Statistics can help answer these questions. In this module, the methodology is applied to numerous examples from the production environment—an important prerequisite for the modules on quality management and mechanical processes, among others.
Microorganisms and their metabolic byproducts are a major cause of undesirable food spoilage. The metabolic byproducts of microorganisms lead to sensory changes (odor, taste, color) in food that we perceive as unpleasant. However, microorganisms also produce toxins that are harmful to our health (e.g., aflatoxin from molds) or continue to multiply in our bodies, which can make us sick (e.g., Salmonella). The goal of hygiene is to curb the growth of microorganisms and prevent spoilage. To this end, thermal and chemical processes can be applied to the product itself. Hygiene also involves the use of appropriate cleaning procedures for equipment and machinery. You will learn about the various microorganisms as well as inactivation, disinfection, and cleaning technologies. In the lab, you will learn how to determine microorganism concentrations and analyze the strains involved.
What is milk? What can be called milk, and what is perceived as milk even if it is actually a substitute product? Consumers often have specific expectations about what products and their names actually entail. Retailers must meet these expectations. Similarly, lawmakers use these expectations to define which products may be named in certain ways and which quality standards must be met. In this module, you’ll gain an overview of the wide variety of products in the food retail sector. You’ll learn about food law requirements—from product definitions and labeling requirements on packaging to the advertising claims that food producers are allowed (or not allowed) to make.
This module teaches you the fundamentals of control and regulation of technical systems—two indispensable disciplines for modern food production. You will learn how processes in processing lines can be monitored, controlled, and optimized to ensure efficient and stable operation. In control engineering, the focus is on developing control systems that operate according to defined rules. You will explore programmable logic controllers (PLCs), logic controllers, and their application in the production process. Control theory expands on this approach and deals with dynamic processes. You will learn how systems continuously respond to changes in order to maintain setpoints—for example, in temperature control in baking ovens, speed control of mixers, or flow control in filling systems. Topics such as control loop analysis, PID controllers, and system stability are central components of the curriculum.
In heat transfer, you will learn how thermal energy flows within systems and how these processes can be optimized. You will examine how heat is transferred into or out of food and what temperature distribution results. Temperature profiles are crucial for the sensory and hygienic quality of food. A particular focus is placed on the sustainable use of heat, e.g., through waste heat recovery or the integration of solar thermal energy into process technology.
In this advanced module, you will deepen your understanding of the physicochemical and thermodynamic principles covered in the first module. The focus is on more complex applications in food technology. Physical chemistry describes the thermophysical behavior of substances. This module focuses on mixtures of substances and chemical reactions. You will learn about water activity, a key factor in food shelf life. You will discover when foods are prone to drying out and how shelf life can be extended by modifying the storage atmosphere. Physical chemistry and thermodynamics provide the foundation for the Thermal and Chemical Processes module, in which you’ll gain a deeper understanding of equipment such as dryers and distillation columns. This module is closely integrated with heat transfer and the food technology laboratory. It prepares you to solve complex technical challenges in a sustainable and efficient manner.
In the Business Administration course, you’ll learn about the different types of businesses and how they’re structured. You’ll learn how to evaluate the profitability of investments, how to conduct demand planning, and how management accounting works. In the Business Law course, you’ll learn about the obligations of employers and employees, what to consider regarding product liability, and what a sales contract should include. These are important skills and knowledge—especially for leadership roles within a company. Or maybe you’d like to start your own business someday!
Many processes in food technology are based on fundamental process operations, which are explained in the lectures on Mechanical Processes and Thermal and Chemical Processes. However, there are also specialized technologies that cannot be clearly classified under these basic operations. These include, for example, pasteurization, freeze-drying, ice cream production, and meat processing. In most cases, these processes require multiple steps, or several processes (inactivation of microorganisms, chemical reactions, separation of substances) occur simultaneously. In this module, selected processes that are important in food technology are covered in greater depth.
Plants in the fields of environmental engineering and food processing are constructed from individual process units, which in turn form the overall plant when combined in various ways. Collectively, these units achieve the overall goal of treatment or processing—for example, clean drinking water, treated wastewater, or a food product. Thermal process engineering provides methods for modifying substances and mixtures of substances through changes in temperature or pressure, or for separating substances. These include processes such as drying, distillation, adsorption, and absorption, as well as individual membrane processes such as reverse osmosis. You will learn how to design and operate processes for producing non-alcoholic beer, extracting flavorings, or manufacturing instant coffee powder. Chemical process engineering deals with the industrial-scale implementation of chemical reactions—these are used, for example, in the modification of fats or the blanching of vegetables. Enzymes or microorganisms are also frequently used for this purpose (yogurt, cheese).
Process engineering, as a branch of engineering, deals with the technical design of processes in which materials are transformed. These transformations can be brought about by mechanical forces, thermal processes, or chemical or biochemical reactions. Mechanical process engineering refers to those processes in which mechanical forces are used to alter physical properties. It encompasses separation processes such as filtering, sieving, and centrifugation, as well as mixing. It examines changes in material properties (e.g., particle size) and material composition (concentration) resulting from mechanical forces.
Management systems are used in business to standardize processes. They ensure that responses to problems that arise are not handled arbitrarily, but rather according to predefined processes. In the food industry, product quality plays a crucial role. What action is taken when a quality parameter is exceeded in the laboratory? How is a customer complaint handled? How are employee ideas implemented? Procedures must be defined for all these issues—a quality management system establishes such procedures and identifies the individuals responsible for them. Similarly, there are also management systems for other objectives within a company—such as reducing energy consumption or minimizing harmful environmental impacts.
Food must be transported from the producer—usually a farmer—to the processor. There, numerous processes are carried out, which in turn require the internal transport of goods (intralogistics). Finally, the food is transported to retailers and from there to the consumer. Product quality must not be compromised throughout all these processes, which is a particular challenge given the high hygiene standards in the food industry. This module covers transportation technologies (specifically the cold chain), packaging materials, and packaging technologies (e.g., aseptic packaging).
The project is an important stage in your studies, during which you can apply the knowledge you’ve gained in previous modules in a practical setting. You’ll work on a specific task—often drawn from real-world scenarios—and develop innovative solutions in the field of environmental engineering.
The topics covered in the project work are diverse and include, for example:
Food safety and quality
Processing technologies
Innovative Food Products
Sustainability in food production
Food chemistry and analysis
Nutrition and Health
Packaging Technologies
During the project work, you will learn to work in teams, analyze technical problems, and professionally document and present your results. The project work is an ideal preparation for your bachelor’s thesis, as you will already be conducting in-depth research and development work here.
The elective courses are designed to help food technologists specialize. They must be selected from the catalog of modules listed below. This list is continuously expanded and updated to include current topics!