Learn how to make health food products and gain product development skills.
Increase knowledge of business applications to achieve food production business goals.
Understand the importance of food (free-from and substitutes) in specific diet types.
This course is for:
- People who work in food retail
- Home-based or small business owners
- Specialised food/crop producers
- Human nutrition specialists
- Café and restaurant owners
- Holistic life coaches
- Speciality kitchens – cooks or chefs
- Commercial sales and marketing teams
- Food and beverage product developers
- Anyone working in hospitality
- Food production workers or managers
This tutor supported, 100-hour, course introduces a series of structured activities and tasks and guides you through assignments designed to inspire achievable home learning.
There are nine lessons in this course, each requiring approximately 11 hours of work including reading, additional research, completing the set tasks and assignments.
The content of each of the nine lessons is:
Lesson 1. Nature, Scope and Development of Health Foods
This lesson introduces students to health food based eating and products.
Introduction to Health Foods
Diets for Medical and Health Reasons
Diets for Lifestyle or Principle-Based Reasons
Diets for Religious and Cultural Reasons
Types of Diets (Overviews)
Vegetarian
Pescatarian & Pollo-pescatarian
Organics
Vegan
Raw
Ketogenic
Free From (Gluten free, Soy free, Lactose free, Nut free, Sugar free, Dairy free, Egg free, Sulphite free)
Macrobiotic
Mediterranean, Eastern and Western
Low carbohydrate or No-sugar
Carnivore
Introduction to Commercial Development of Food Products
Lesson 2. Health Food and Human Nutrition
This lesson ensures sound knowledge of human digestion at a level appropriate for food manufacturers or retailers. It explores major foods groups as is fundamental in understanding human nutrition, whilst introducing the concept of nutritional deficiency which (possibly) arises from restrictive diets.
Introduction to Nutrition Science
The Concept of Diet
Human Digestion - An overview
The Digestive Tract
Accessory Digestive Organs
Major Food Groups
Fats
Protein
Carbohydrates
Specialised Diets & Human Nutrition Deficiencies
Vegetarian
Pescatarian
Vegan
Ketogenic
Free-from
Paleo
F.O.D.M.A.P.
Lesson 3. Significance of Gluten, Sugar and Fermented Products
This lesson looks at common substances which impact health food development. Gluten, sugar and yeast (fermented foods). This lesson introduces students to the breadth of health food development and gives a little of the science behind human health and what we eat.
Gluten
Chemistry of Gluten
Gluten in the Diet
Gluten in Food Industry
Gluten-Free (GF) Product Development
Sugar
The Chemistry of Sugar
Sugar in the Body
Sugar-free Product Development
Sweeteners
Sugar Alcohols
Fermented Foods
Yeasts
Chemistry of Fermentation
Fermented Foods in the Diet for Human Health
Fermented Foods Product Development
Kefir
Kimchi
Kombucha
Miso
Natto
Sauerkraut
Common Substitutions and Adjustments
Lesson 4. Development of Wheat Substitute Products
This lesson discusses wheat and its significance in the diet. It also explores the difference between intolerance and allergy in relation to coeliac disease. The lesson covers gluten free flours and how binding and emulsification are important processes in gluten free cooking/baking. This lesson content is tied into free-from diet types.
Wheat
Wheat Products Free-from Gluten
Coeliac Disease Symptoms & Treatment
Treatment of Coeliac Disease
Making Gluten Free Bread
Texture
Selecting a Gluten-Free Flours
Common Gluten Free-Flour Types
Almond
Buckwheat
Chickpea
Coconut
Corn
Millet
Oats
Potato Flour
Sorghum
Soy
Rice flour
Teff
Starches
Arrowroot
Corn-starch
Potato Starch
Binding
Creating Flour Blends
Other Elements in Gluten-Free Bread
Animal Proteins
Emulsification
Leavening Agents and Rising in Gluten-free bread
Baking Gluten-Free bread and muffins
GF Muffins
Recipes
Lesson 5. Development of Protein Substitute Products
This lesson encourages students to develop a sound understanding of the importance of protein in nutrition. This lesson content is tied into free-from meat and dairy diet types.
Protein and why we need it
Essential Amino Acids
Non- Essential Amino Acids
Conditionally Essential Amino Acids
Uses in the body
Recommended protein intake
Plant-based Substitutions
Legumes as a Protein Source
Soybeans
Chickpeas
The dairy-free market
Dairy Free Substitutes
Egg-free diets
How to Replace Eggs in Recipes
Lesson 6. Development of Dairy Substitute Products
This lesson helps students understand significant differences in health related problems linked to milk or milk based products. The lesson delves into the manufacturing of alternative products which are dairy free. This lesson content is tied into free-from diet types.
Cow’s Milk Protein (CMP)
Cow’s Milk Sugar (Lactose)
Making Non-Dairy Milk
Equipment
General Plant Milk Recipe
Make Soy Milk
Cheese
Focus on Flavour and Melt
Soft, Creamier Non-Dairy Cheeses
Replicating the Cheese-Making Method
Plant-Based Yoghurt
Principles for Plant-Based Yoghurt
Creams and Ice-Cream
Cream
Basic Nut Cream
Lesson 7. Development of Vegetarian and Vegan Products
This lesson content is tied into free-from diet types such as free meat or animal produce diets, it is closely aligned with plant-based eating.
Overview of Vegetarianism
Types of Vegetarian Diets
Overview of Veganism
Nutrition in Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking
Tofu Products
Soybean Products
Cooking for Vegetarians
Vegetarian Sausages
Emulsification
Fat
Flavour
Colour
Composition
Production of Burgers
Building Flavour into Foods
Vegetarian Produce Suggestions
Beans
Bean Products – For Manufacture
Nuts in Health Food Product Development
Types of Nuts
Selling Food to the Vegan and Vegetarian Market
Lesson 8. Business Applications in Health Food Manufacturing
This lesson looks carefully at some business elements which are specific to the health food industry. It introduces you to factors for further consultation, review and advice (beyond study) if you are serious about becoming a food manufacturer. It also explores related roles and occupations which might excite small business to expand services and complementary offerings.
Sourcing Ingredients
Buy Local
Sell Local
Sourcing Organics
Cross-Contamination and Labelling
Labelling Laws
Restaurant and Café Menus
Consumer Attitudes
Changing Habits
Business Owner Occupational Health and Safety Responsibilities
Insurance
Working with Health Professionals
Food Coaching
Nutritional Counsellor or Therapist
Lesson 9. Marketing Specialised Foods and Associated Services
This is a jam-packed lesson with a blend of marketing theory, useful strategies and tips on how to get a new product to a customer base. It is the ultimate knowledge needed for new business ventures in this industry. It covers marketing plans and branding and much more.
Introduction to Marketing
Monitoring and Controlling the Marketing Plan
A note on Branding
Ultimate Goals of Marketing
Marketing Sends a Message
Message Execution
Words Sell
Personalise
Deciding to Buy
Understand the Buyer
Types of Marketing Research
Ways of Gathering Data
Primary Data Collections Methods
Secondary Data Collection Method
What is needed to Conduct Effective Research
The Outcome of Market Research
Modifications to the Marketing Plan
Market Share Analysis (Ratios)
Marketing Cost Analysis
Taking a Product to the Market
Wholesaling
Face to Face Retail and Online Stores or Mail Order
Online Sales
Business to Business (B2B)
Lesson Aims
Lesson 1: Describe alternative foods developed and marketed for a range of dietary requirements and preferences.
Lesson 2: Describe how health food products are developed to satisfy a variety of nutritional requirements.
Lesson 3: Describe the significance of major components – gluten, sugar and fermented products – in health food manufacturing.
Lesson 4: Explain how to manufacture a range of different wheat substitute products.
Lesson 5: Explain how to manufacture a range of different protein substitute products.
Lesson 6: Explain how to manufacture a range of different dairy substitute products.
Lesson 7: Explain how to manufacture a range of different substitute products suitable for vegetarian and vegan consumers.
Lesson 8: Discuss business applications in the health food industry.
Lesson 9: Explain how to market specialised health food products and services.
Health Food Production Course Aim - Apply a knowledge of foods and their components to develop and market a range of different health foods.
Extract from the Course:
There is a significant market for health-based food products that cater to specialist needs, in supermarkets, retail food shops, cafes, restaurants, and pre-packaged or ready-made meals. This market may be divided into various categories, for instance:
- Medical and Health
- Lifestyle and Principles
- Cultural or Religion
Yet all three categories contribute to the same general need for specialty food products.
Diets for lifestyle and principle-based motives include:
- Raw (as known as clean) -- Many processed foods contain additives designed to enhance taste, shelf life or other characteristics of the food. Other foods can be contaminated by toxic chemicals from the environment where the food was grown including pollutants and/or chemical sprays. These include preservatives, food colourings, and other chemical additives. Some people can be particularly intolerant to these food additives. A clean diet focuses on whole foods with few or no additives and preservatives. Vegan – vegan diets are free of all animal products. This includes being free from eggs, milk, honey, and in some cases, fruits such as avocado due to production concerns.
- Vegetarian – vegetarian diets do not include meat, but may include limited animal products, such as eggs, milk, and honey. There are many variations on a vegetarian diet. In some places, people who eat fish may refer to themselves as vegetarian, though this is more properly considered pescatarian.
- Keto -- The ketogenic diet was developed as part of a treatment for the seizure disorder epilepsy. It combines large amounts of fat with very low amounts of carbohydrates. This induces the liver to produce ketone bodies as a source of energy for neurons. Ketogenesis also alters the balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, modifies gene expression, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, and has other effects on brain function.
- Paleo – the paleo diet is a diet based on the perceived idea of early human diets, generally pre-farming. It focuses on a variety of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, and generally excludes grains (including cereals such as wheat), legumes, and dairy as products of agriculture. It does include nuts and seeds. The idea is to reduce negative health outcomes by focusing on nutrition based on hunting and gathering.
Why start today?
Students will learn the importance of food for human health, delve into produce and product development, learn how to put it all together in applications for successful business.
Hospitality or retail staff will develop greater knowledge of how and why health food is critical. Increasing familiarity of available products means staff will strengthen the breadth and depth of their understanding and sell with confidence.
Plant-based eating venues, or 'free-from' menu options seen in cafés and restaurants, ensure they offer an exclusive dining experience catering to their own unique customer base.
Nothing energises our students more than taking small steps on a path to something big. Take an idea, combine the basics, add unlimited layers of passion, stir in some business acumen, add a large pinch of marketing know-how to finish...
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