FDSC30230 Plant-based Foods &Ingredients

Academic Year 2024/2025

The module will have a strong focus on sustainability. The students will gain in-depth knowledge of key concepts in the area, such as ‘sustainability’ vs 'sustainable development’, sustainability models, the United Nations United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) and key documents to target the progress of all countries and critically compare each country's sustainability targets.

These sustinability aspects will be critically examined in current plant-based products representative of Irish production and exports, and how can we improve this sector using a farm-to-fork, circularity and biorefinery strategies that could be later applied to any other food product (meat, dairy and fish). Some of the indicative content of this module will include:

1- United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development goals (SDGs).
2- The Irish and Global plant-based food industry market.
3- Sustainability and circularity concepts applied to plant-based foods, including the farm-to-fork strategy.
4- Main operations and processes for plant-based food production in Ireland.
5- Analysis of current production systems.
6- Up-coming trends and challenges of plant-based foods and ingredients.
7- Limitations and challenges of the incorporation of new plant-based ingredients into foods.


Inclusivity statement
The School of Agriculture and Food Science and the section of Food and Nutrition strive to create a community that nurtures the talents of everyone regardless of socioeconomic status, disability, race, religion, culture, gender or sexual orientation. Our modules and learning environment are designed inclusively, so that they can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible, removing all barriers to learning. Students are provided with equal opportunities to access, participate and succeed, regardless of background, personal circumstances, age or disability. Students are encouraged to approach staff to discuss their learning needs and any information disclosed will be treated with confidentiality and respect.

Show/hide contentOpenClose All

Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

1. Understand Sustainability: definitions and models
2. Ability to critically analyse UN SDGs, future thinking and sustainability targets of Ireland and other countries.
3. Develop an appreciation of the Irish and global plant-based food markets and challenges.
4. Understand the concepts of sustainability and circularity applied to plant-based products.
5. Understand the main plant production systems and plant commodities produced in Ireland.
6. Apply the farm-to-fork principles to identify opportunities and challenges in current production systems.
7. Understand the limitations and challenges of the incorporation of new plant-based ingredients into foods.
8. Develop team and communication skills by significantly contributing to a team project.

Indicative Module Content:

Some of the indicative content of this module will include:

- Introduction to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development goals (SDGs).
- The Irish and Global plant-based food industry market.
- Sustainability and circularity concepts applied to plant-based foods, including the farm-to-fork strategy.
- Main operations and processes for plant-based food production in Ireland.
- Analysis of current production systems.
- Up-coming trends and challenges of plant-based foods and ingredients.
- Limitations and challenges of the incorporation of new plant-based ingredients into foods.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

12
Tutorial

12
Specified Learning Activities

30
Autonomous Student Learning

60
Total

114
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module will be delivered through the UCD Brightspace VLE system and will consist of the following learning activities:
- Lectures (online or face-to-face).
- Tutorials (face-to-face).
- Group work (online or face-to-face).
- Forum discussion on Brightspace (online).
- Scientific communication and dissemination activities (online). 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Pre-requisite:
FDSC30040 - Food Chemistry I


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Short research pieces to submit in Brightspace. n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

20
Group Work Assignment: Poster presentation as part of a group n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

20
Quizzes/Short Exercises: MCQs in class n/a Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No

60

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Post-assessment feedback (where no further similar assessment is scheduled) will take the form of grades and/or feedback comments indicating areas for improvement. Students may make an appointment to discuss assessment grades at a time convenient to both Module coordinator and the student. More important however are the feed-forward insights on the students’ learning. This module has a scheduled series of in-class assessments designed to promote team building and develop competence in sustainability and scientific dissemination and communication activities. Feedback will be given during the group-work sessions, prior to completing the tasks so that the feedback can feed forward to inform improved performance. These tasks then build to inform higher-stakes group project work later in the module.