Microscopy of Extraneous and Foreign Matter in Food (1555)

COURSE OUTLINE & SYLLABUS

Course schedule: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Friday

This course is geared towards scientists who encounter contaminants in manufactured products such as food, beverages and pharmaceuticals.

Fundamentals of Using a Polarized Light Microscope
Students will learn the techniques of polarized light microscopy and their use in the characterization and identification of unknown materials.

Identification of Black Specks
Students will then use the polarized light microscopy techniques to identify black specks. This course will teach the optical and morphological qualities of chars, metals, alloys, rubber, asphalt, carbon, combustion products, soil, dirt, and dust.

Glass Identification
Techniques for the analysis and comparison of microscopic glass fragments, including measurements of refractive index and dispersion will be covered.

Other Contaminants
This course will include a short survey of other contaminants such as hairs, polymers, fibers, film, building materials, as time allows.

There is no prerequisite to this course and students are encouraged to bring their own projects and samples to work on and share.

This course is a companion course to Food Microscopy (1560).