6th - 12th Grade Agriscience:
Food Science Technology

GENERAL FOOD SCIENCE

Enlightened Concessions: Through project-based learning, students conduct surveys with their peers at school about healthy food products they think will be marketable for school concessions. Based on surveys and research, they choose an in-demand product to test in class and then present to a guest panel as a healthy choice.

FARM-TO-TABLE 

Before the Plate: Students will view the 2018 documentary “Before the Plate” and follow Canadian chef John Horne as he journeys to the source of 10 primary food ingredients used in his restaurant. Using critical thinking skills, students will explore the farm-to-table journey of food.

Chain of Food (Grades 6-8): Students will explore the path food takes along the Farm-to-Table Continuum. They will begin on the farm and investigate food safety issues during processing, transportation, at restaurants and supermarkets, and finally, in their own homes. Teams will identify how food can become contaminated along the continuum and develop and present strategies for preventing contamination at each step.

Chain of Food (Grades 9-12): Students will explore the path food takes along the Farm-to-Table Continuum. They will begin on the farm and investigate food safety issues during processing, transportation, at restaurants and supermarkets, and finally, in their own homes. Teams will identify how food can become contaminated along the continuum and develop and present strategies for preventing contamination at each step. 

Energy and the Commodity Trace-back: In this lesson, students will describe the domestic food supply chain and identify the use and types of energy involved in the growth, harvest, processing, transportation and marketing of an agricultural commodity.

Food: Going the Distance: Students calculate the miles common food items travel from the farm to their plates and discuss the environmental, social, and economic pros and cons of eating local vs relying on a global marketplace for our food.

Fruits and Vegetables: The Right Pick for Vitamins and Minerals: Students will describe the farm-to-table process of common fruits and vegetables, recognize the nutrients fruits and vegetables provide and evaluate methods of food storage and preparation for preserving nutrients.

FOOD PACKAGING 

Cruisin' for a Bruisin' Food Packaging Specialist: In this lesson, students will learn that product packaging is a balance between function, food safety and economics by designing a protective package for shipping perishable fruit. Each package will be presented to the class for evaluation, and the best design will be shipped to test the product's durability.

Looking Under the Label: Students will evaluate food package labels, determine their meaning, and use the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning model to determine the value of the label in relation to food production practices, nutrition, health and food safety. Students will engage in critical thinking to recognize the impact of food package labels in relation to marketing, consumer perceptions of food and farming practices.

FOOD PRESERVATION

Blue's the Clue: Souring Milk for Science (Grades 6-8): This lab introduces students to the effect temperature has on reducing and controlling the growth of bacteria. Students will use conventionally pasteurized and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk to observe how different temperatures (hot, room temperature, cool and freezing) affect the growth of spoilage bacteria. They will also learn about the importance of pasteurization in keeping food safe.

Blue's the Clue: Souring Milk for Science (Grades 9-12): This lab introduces students to the effect temperature has on reducing and controlling the growth of bacteria. Students will use conventionally pasteurized and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk to observe how different temperatures (hot, room temperature, cool and freezing) affect the growth of spoilage bacteria. They will also learn about the importance of pasteurization in keeping food safe.

FoodMASTER Middle: Fruits: Students will learn the concept of enzymatic browning and methods for decreasing enzymatic oxidation by observing three types of fruit. Students will also understand the relationship between oxidation and antioxidants and the role fruits play in health and nutrition.

Good Guys or Bad Guys?: Students will explore and observe microorganisms at work in decomposition as well as in the production and preservation of food. Activities include creating a decay buffet and identifying grocery store foods that contain or are made with the help of microorganisms.

Mystery Juice (Grades 6-8): Using an inquiry approach, students will develop an investigation to determine the difference between two juices. Food safety will be discussed in relation to the results of the investigations. Students will have the opportunity to discover how pasteurization reduces the number of microorganisms in a food such as juice.

Mystery Juice (Grades 9-12): Using an inquiry approach, students will develop an investigation to determine the difference between two juices. Food safety will be discussed in relation to the results of the investigations. Students will have the opportunity to discover how pasteurization reduces the number of microorganisms in a food such as juice.

Preservation Power of Honey: Students will expand their knowledge of microbial growth and scientific food preservation methods to learn how honey can serve as an antibacterial agent. Students will learn how honey may be used as a preservative of milk in areas without access to electricity or refrigeration and how this preservation method relies on elements found specifically in honey that cannot be replicated with other sources of sugar. 

Ultra High Pressure Treatment (Grades 6-8): Students will explore various ways that have been used to preserve food over the ages. They will also learn about techniques used to process food today and hypothesize about other methods scientists might use to process food safely in the future. Finally, students will conduct a simulation of high pressure treatment and discover how it destroys bacteria without crushing the food.

Ultra High Pressure Treatment (Grades 9-12): Students will explore various ways that have been used to preserve food over the ages. They will also learn about techniques used to process food today and hypothesize about other methods scientists might use to process food safely in the future. Finally, students will conduct a simulation of high pressure treatment and discover how it destroys bacteria without crushing the food.

FOOD PROCESSING

Cheesemaking: A Science, an Art, and a Craft: Students make fresh mozzarella cheese and explore a career as an artisan cheesemaker as they discover the science, art, and craft involved in the development of specialty cheeses.

Enzymes and Bacteria are Whey Cool!: Students study the science of amino acids, protein, enzymes, and beneficial bacterial bacteria to explore the phenomena, “Why does each variety of cheese taste different when the ingredients are the same?”

FoodMASTER Middle: Yogurt: Students will learn the role of bacterial fermentation and evaluate the effect of fat content, sugar content (lactose) and temperature in bacterial fermentation as they make yogurt. 

Food Science: Bread Dough Challenge: Students explore the phenomenon of what makes bread dough rise. Using baker's yeast, students will observe alcoholic fermentation and its connection to cellular respiration as they are challenged to act as food scientists and develop the best recipe for quick-rising bread dough.

From Cow to Carton: Milk's Journey to the Consumer: Students will explore milk production in the United States and explain the benefits of homogenization, pasteurization, and fortification of milk.

Say Cheese for Protein: Explore protein, discover the role of amino acids, identify dietary sources of complete and incomplete proteins, and make fresh mozzarella cheese— a food science experience where students will observe the protein in milk (whey and casein) separate from water in the creation of cheese.

Science You Can Eat: Students explore the scientific processes used to make the crops we grow and the livestock we raise (commodities) into some of the foods we eat every day. Students will discover how science and technology work together to create foods like pickles, bread, yogurt and more! To engage further in the topic, students will make their own cheese using enzymes produced through the fermentation of genetically engineered yeast.

FOOD SAFETY

A Chilling Investigation: Students will observe the difference in bacterial count between a hamburger that’s left out at room temperature and a hamburger that’s kept refrigerated. The lab reinforces the concept that food must be properly chilled in order for it to remain safe to eat. This lab will be conducted as a teacher demonstration.

Coliform Counts: This is an advanced level or honors lab. During this investigation, students will perform a coliform analysis of raw hamburger meat. They will collect, organize and interpret data while practicing safe lab techniques. In the end, they will apply the results of a coliform analysis to food safety.

Cooking Right: The Science of Cooking a Hamburger (Grades 6-8): The teacher will demonstrate cooking hamburgers to different temperatures. Students will analyze Petri dishes inoculated with hamburger and observe the amount of bacteria at each temperature. They will also learn that cooking hamburgers to the recommended temperature of 160° F (71° C) will kill pathogenic bacteria. Hamburger is used for this cooking lab because it’s a food that students are familiar with and may be cooking at home.

Cooking Right: The Science of Cooking a Hamburger (Grades 9-12): Through a series of 4 Labs, students will explore the 4 Cs of Food Safety: clean, cook, chill and combat cross-contamination (separate). Hamburger is used for the labs, as it is a food that students are familiar with and may be cooking at home. Lab 4 is a review and summary of what the students have learned about the 4 Cs and encourages them to apply these principles to their everyday lives.

Crossed Up!: Students will discover that some items in their own kitchens may be contaminated by bacteria. They will be challenged to hypothesize about where bacteria might be found in kitchens and which items might have the most and the least bacteria. Students will develop awareness that bacteria can spread from surfaces to hands—and even to food—and will hypothesize how to control the spread of bacteria.

Fast-Food Footwork: Students will explore how retail foodservice establishments ensure that food is safely stored, prepared and served. Through inquiry, they will also learn about local health regulations and how the 4 Cs of Food Safety apply to all aspects of foodservice. 

FoodMASTER Middle: Food Safety: Students will understand water-based state changes that occur at varying temperatures, recognize the importance of the proper hand-washing technique for general health and disease prevention, understand the factors that impact mold growth and their application to food safety, and explore ways to prevent foodborne illness.

Food Safety Sleuths—Food Safety Specialist: In this lesson, students will learn about foodborne illness, its prevention, and the people and organizations that are involved in food safety. Students will conduct an experiment to learn how hand-washing affects the presence of bacteria on their hands. 

Outbreak Alert—Shigella: Students will analyze a real-life foodborne illness outbreak. They will assume the role of FBI (FoodBorne Illness) investigators to plot out the steps and identify the questions to ask in order to get to the source of the outbreak. Students will discuss and compare their investigative approaches to the actual public health investigation.

Supermarket Smarts: In this activity, students will develop an awareness of the importance of food safety in retail food establishments. They will be challenged to design and manage their own food-safe supermarket department using the 4 Cs of Food Safety. At the end of this activity, each team will present its findings in an innovative presentation.

Understanding Bacteria (Grades 6-8): This lesson introduces students to food safety, the 4 Cs of Food Safety, the Farm-to-Table Continuum, who’s responsible for keeping our food safe, and the link between food safety and other content areas. Students will also be challenged to hypothesize about where most bacteria are found and develop awareness that bacteria are everywhere and that various surfaces might have different levels of organisms.

Understanding Bacteria (Grades 9-12): This lesson introduces students to food safety, the 4 Cs of Food Safety, the Farm-to-Table Continuum, who’s responsible for keeping our food safe, and the link between food safety and other content areas. Students will also be challenged to hypothesize about where most bacteria are found and develop awareness that bacteria are everywhere and that various surfaces might have different levels of organisms.