Introduction to Food Technology

How does milk become yoghurt, a tomato become a can of soup, or wheat become a loaf on the shelf? This course shows you how food is really made.

Food technology is the practical side of food science. It is the cleaning, cutting, mixing, heating, chilling, drying, filling and packing that turns raw materials into safe food with a reliable shelf life. Anyone starting out in a food factory, a quality team or a food studies programme needs to understand these steps and why each one is there.

Introduction to Food Technology is a 16-hour online course for school leavers, first-year students, career changers and new factory staff. It assumes school-level science only, and it uses examples from dairies, bakeries, canneries, meat plants and beverage lines.

What the course covers

Seven modules: what food technology is and how the food industry is organised; the principles of preservation; the core unit operations used in every plant; pasteurisation, sterilisation and canning; chilling, freezing, drying and newer methods such as high pressure processing; food packaging; and taking a product from idea to factory under Good Manufacturing Practice.

Each module closes with a case study or practical activity, a knowledge check and a game: put the canning line in the right order, match the pack to the job, and make the calls on your first week of night shift. Every lesson has a Listen to this lesson option. All activities, knowledge checks and games are compulsory and open in order.

The course ends with a capstone project and a proctored final assessment: 40 questions drawn at random, so every attempt is different. 60 minutes, 70 percent to pass, 3 attempts.

Your certificate

Pass the final assessment and you receive an ASC Food Safety Certificate of Achievement for Introduction to Food Technology. It shows your name, the course, the completion date and a unique verification ID with a QR code, so an employer or auditor can check it online at ascfoodsafetytraining.com. You can download it from your dashboard as soon as you pass.

The course was developed by ASC Food Safety’s multidisciplinary team of industry professionals, led by Mthokozisi Nkosi, with contributions from specialists in brewing, dairy processing, meat processing and nutrition. It follows international references: Codex Alimentarius, ISO 22000 and WHO and FAO guidance.