Food Technology

The Food Technology sector resulted from the split of the Hygiene and Technology of Food of Animal Origin chair carried out in 1992. The other sector resulting from this split is Food Hygiene and Inspection.

The courses relating to food technology, like the other courses related to food sciences, have been modified on several occasions since 1992 as the course program has evolved. In the early 2000s, the 2nd cycle courses, given exclusively in the final year, were moved to the 1st and 2nd masters in order to make future veterinarians aware earlier of the importance of food quality and safety and the essential role they will play in the management of public health. This trend continued in 2008 with the introduction of an introductory course in veterinary public health from the 2nd baccalaureate, the coordination of which was entrusted to the department. This course highlights the multidisciplinarity of this field. The Technology sector is also involved in the organization of the complementary master's degree in specialized veterinary medicine, the veterinary public health/food science option of which enables veterinarians to acquire in-depth skills, opening up numerous opportunities for them in the agri-food sector in wider. This training is a continuation of the "licence in hygiene and technology" created in 1976, which has also been revised several times to respond to the spectacular evolution of science and the needs of society.

Since 1992, the Technology laboratory has devoted its research activities mainly to the study of the organoleptic, technological and nutritional qualities of fresh meat (especially bovine and porcine), and to the development of methods for predicting these qualities. His collaboration has been requested for numerous research programs in animal production, aimed at studying the influence of production factors (nutrition, genetics, breeding methods) on product quality. Since 2008, he has been the promoter or partner of several research projects located downstream of primary production and aimed at studying the ability to preserve meat and meat products and at optimizing it by controlling refrigeration and packaging under a modified atmosphere, or even by the use of plant extracts having an antioxidant and/or antimicrobial effect and constituting an alternative to food additives used as preservatives. The experimental food production unit made available to the department in 2010 makes it possible to reproduce the conditions for the production and preservation of fresh meat, meat preparations and meat products and to study the physico-chemical mechanisms and microbiological responsible for their aging.

Contact : Antoine CLINQUART