A degree in food science explores the details of food chemistry, production, development and

safety and can lead to a range of careers in manufacturing, research and retail as well as
associated health, legislation, engineering and agricultural options

Job options
Jobs directly related to your degree include:

Food technologist
Nutritional therapist
Product/process development scientist
Quality manager
Regulatory affairs officer
Scientific laboratory technician
Technical brewer

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

Production manager
Purchasing manager
Research scientist (life sciences)
Toxicologist

B.SC. (FOOD SCIENCE, NUTRITION & DIETETICS)- UON

Principles of Animal Production
. Feeding and management of farm animals: feed utilization and digestibility, feeding for maintenance
and reproduction; feeding practice; body growth, meat quality and factors determining the quality;
factors influencing milk production and quality
Biochemistry
. Cell ultrastructure with emphasis on the metabolism of proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids
and their role in cell function. Thermodynamics in biochemical transformations. Biochemistry of major
plant and animal foods. Introduction to clinical biochemistry.
Chemistry
. Basic physical and inorganic chemistry: atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical bonding,
chemistry of water. Acidity and colloids. Radiochemistry. Energy relations and kinetics of chemical

reactions. Organic chemistry; the chemistry of alkenes, benzene, phenols, alcohols, esters, carbonyl
compounds, acids, amino Compounds and halides.
Agricultural Botany
.Introduction to the basic anatomy, morphology and reproduction of flowering plants with special
reference to families and species of economic importance in East Africa . Basic concepts of plant
taxonomy, crop origins, distribution and ecology. Physiological processes occurring in crop/plants and
their relationship to environmental factors. Particular emphasis on the pre and post harvest physiology
of fruits and vegetables. Inorganic nutrition, production and distribution of carbon compounds. DNA
constitution and replication, Mendelian principles, segregation, linkage and cross over, gene mapping,
dominance, multiple alleles, sex determination and sex linkage; cytoplasmic inheritance; variation in
number and aberrations of chromosomes. Recombination; gene function and the genetic code.
Plant/crop Physiology
.Introduction to physical and physiological aspects of climate. The shoot and root microclimate. The cell
membrane and functions. Diffusion, osmosis and water potential. Plant water relations. Mineral
nutrition, photosynthesis, translocation, respiration, germination, plant growth and development.
Introduction to Statistics
.Descriptive statistics. Probability: Some probability distributions, Statistical inference, estimation and
testing of difference of two expectations. Goodness of fit tests, contingency tables, Correlation and
regression.
Macroeconomics
.Theory of production with reference to East Africa , choice of technique, population growth, poverty
and unemployment. Foreign trade, exchange rates, capital flows and foreign aid. Determinants of
economic growth; alternative goal formulation, implementation and achievement of East African
planners
Rural Development
.Definition of Development. Rural Communities in Kenya and Agricultural Systems. Land tenure and its
history. Environment, population, infrastructure, equity, resources, equity and women in development.
Food marketing; social structure; impact of rural development on household food and nutrition security;
rural-urban food linkages; and planning rural development - communication (adult education),
community participation and integration, sustainability, collaboration with other agencies and rural
development policy and associated policies in Kenya
Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology
.Sociology: definitions, its development as a discipline and its basic concepts as they relate to nutrition.
Principles of social structure and organization; social institutions, the family and kinship; gender issues

and role differentiation; values, norms and taboos; cultural evolution and change; diet and culture. Basic
concepts of anthropology and relevance to nutrition. Concepts of ethnology and ethnography in the
context of food and nutrition
Human Anatomy and Physiology
.Overview of the functional anatomy and physiology of the human body. Emphasis will be on the general
organization of the human body, principles of support and movement, the control systems of the human
body (nervous system, endocrine system and the special senses), maintenance systems of the human
body (cardiovascular, lymphatic, digestive, respiratory, immunity), body fluids and the kidneys,
metabolism and temperature regulation, the reproductive system and inheritance
Introduction to Human Nutrition
.Nutrients in food, their composition and variation; the chemistry of nutrients; biochemical and
physiological functions of nutrients; interactions of nutrients and their metabolites. Digestion,
absorption and intake regulation. Natural and man-made factors influencing nutrient utilization.
Balanced diets and disorders related to under- and over-nutrition. Factors influencing human bodys
nutrient needs
Basics of Food Chemistry
.Components and constituents of foods and foodstuffs, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids and Pigments.
The relation of food quality to: rheological properties of food systems; oxidation and reductions;
enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions. Physical and chemical factors accounting for the color, flavor
and texture of fresh and processed foods. Interactions of food components. Objective testing methods
used for food quality characteristics.
Food Toxicology
.Introduction to toxicology and basic concepts of toxicology with emphasis on absorption, distribution
and elimination of poisons/toxicants and nutrient/nutrient metabolites. Acute and chronic toxicity.
Estimation of LD50. Long-term and intermediate toxicological studies. Consideration of toxicants
commonly occurring in foods/foodstuffs, including pesticides, herbicides, harmful food and feed
additives, microbial toxins, heavy metals, mycotoxins and bacterial toxins. Industrial toxicants and
toxicants from food processing/packaging and storage. Food allergies. Control of toxicants.
Food Legislation
.Food contaminants - their sources and control. Food quality control. Principles of food law. Practical
aspects of food legislation and inspection with reference to Kenya and the international market.
Field Methods In Anthropology
.Methods used in anthropology - conventional and rapid assessment procedures, and associated
problems. Qualitative research methods. The relevance and application of the methods in nutrition work

Demography
.Sources of demographic data, deficiencies and advantages of each relative to the others. Terms in
demography and calculations (of ratio): Generation, fertility rates (TFR, GFR, NFR, CDR, MR,), population
projections, population pyramids. History of Kenyas population (growth, migration rates): population
structure, urbanization. Fertility, nutrition and health: relationship between fertility and
nutrition/health, methods of fertility control (traditional and modern), service deliver points and
utilization. Population policy in Kenya.
Human Nutrient Requirements
.Introduction to the nutritional needs of the human body and factors affecting the requirements. The
derivation and calculation of nutrient requirements for individuals and the community
Analytical Methods in Nutrition And Food Science
.Laboratory introduction to principles and analytical techniques of nutritional research. Analytical skills
required to determine nutrient function and nutritional status of individuals. Methods of nutrient,
metabolite, and energy analysis and methods of assessing individual food intake and nutritional status
Biostatistics
.Role of biostatistics in nutrition and health studies and interventions. Various types of data, variables
and ways of presentation of data/information. Summary measures including measures of dispersion and
central tendency. The concept of probabilities, data distribution, application of sampling techniques,
formulation of research hypotheses, research design, and the computation of various tests of
significance.
Nutritional Deficiencies and Related Diseases
.Overview of malnutrition: the study of the physiologic and metabolic anomalies due to chronic and
acute nutrient deficiencies, theories and principles of nutrition therapy and interventions. Nutrition
rehabitation of individuals with either nutrient deficiencies or nutrition-related disorders such as
diabetes mellitus, hypertension, gout and alcohol-related diseases. The nutritional implications of
parasitic infections.
Food Microbiology And Parasitology
.Food as a growth-medium for microorganisms. Laboratory procedures for detection of important
micro-organisms and parasites. Microbiological standards and testing. Food borne diseases mycotoxicoses, zoonoses (taeniasis, cystercercosis, hydatidosis, trichinosis, ascaris, schistosomiasis)
symptoms, prevention and control. Other parasites (esterichia, strongyloides, giardia species).

Environmental Health
The course will cover major environmental health problems in the tropical areas and specifically, the
African region, including water and air pollution, chemical pollution and waste disposal systems and
water treatment.
Food Processing, Preservation and Nutritional Quality
.Diversity of food materials (fruits, vegetables, cereals, tubers, legumes, oil seeds, meat, milk, eggs and
fish) and their quality as direct food and as raw materials for procesing. Direct use of raw materials for
food: benefits, limitations and deterioration. Food processing for preservation: objectives, principles and
methods (heat input and removal, water removal, acidity control (including fermentation), chemical
additives, irradiation, use of antibiotics). Change of nutritional quality of food during processing.
Nutritional quality and stability of processed foods. Packaging as a co-processing factor in food
preservation. Sensory quality and assessment of foods and beverage.
Applied Dietetics in Food Service Systems
.Care and use of institutional equipment, menu planning, recipe development, job analysis and
evaluation, volume food production, rehabilitation of severely malnourished children, famine
operations. Calculation of therapeutic diets, interviewing and counseling.
Maternal and Child Nutrition
.Nutrition of mothers and children in communities with various levels of socio-economic development;
measures of prevention and treatment of protein-energy malnutrition; relationship between nutrition
and mental development, impact of ecological, socioeconomic and cultural factors on nutrition
Nutritional Epidemiology
.Nutritional disorders and their distribution, nutritional surveillance, screening tests, collection of data
for programme evaluation and decision making. Types of studies and study designs appropriate for
specific surveys.
Social Change and Social Development
.Social stratification; demography, population growth, fertility and family as reflection of state of social
development; ecological and environmental, levels of degradation; institutional structure, mode of
assigning roles; ideological trends. Context of change: communal, regional and global. Conditions of
change: historic, internal and external determinants of development; economic, forms of production,
division of labor, economic output; technological development, level of development of productive
forces skills and organization of production. Analysis and consequences of change
Food and Nutrition Programmes at Community Level
.Introduction to different types of nutrition programmes. Case studies of various nutrition programmes.
Theoretical concepts of programme conceptualization, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Incorporating nutrition programmes into other development programmes. Community mobilization in

conceiving, planning and implementation of nutrition programmes. Decision making techniques and
project analysis (problem definition, setting priorities and selection of indicators for programme
monitoring)
Nutritional Assessment of Individuals and Communities
.Overview of the methods for assessing nutritional and health status, techniques of anthropometry,
body composition, energy expenditure and physical performance, techniques for assessing dietary
intake, biochemical assessment and clinical diagnosis of nutritional disorders of individuals and
communities. Theoretical frameworks of what methods, their history, standards of reference and
limitations of the different methods. Criteria for selection of method and determination of method
appropriateness for different assessment needs.
Nutrition Education
.Need for nutritional education in food and nutrition in Africa . Different methods/tools used in
education (especially adult education). Planning of nutrition extension and education programs (by
objectives) and their evaluation, adoption and diffusion of innovations for individual, group and mass
approaches and, community participation (cultural barriers).
Health and Nutritional Sector Analysis
.The course familiarizes the student with major issues affecting health and nutrition of African
communities. In this context, the geographic, climatic demographic, historic and economic factors
prevailing in African societies are examined and their influence and effects on health and nutrition are
identified and discussed. The course foresees multivocal faculty input and active collaboration by the
students
Principles of Nutritional Problem Diagnosis
.Introduction to the means and ways of assessing the health and nutritional situation of a community.
Theory and practice of nutrition and health assessment. Determination of the food balance as well as
the carrying capacity of the land for a given African country. Assessment of anthropometric, dietary and
morbidity patterns shall be practiced within the university community.
Nutrition Planning, Management and Programme Evaluation
.Planning, management and evaluation of health/nutrition programmes and systems. Theory and
methodology of health and nutritional planning. Problem definition, setting of priorities, selection of
suitable interventions, strategies, examination of alternatives, development of the implementation,
management and evaluation plans. Logical framework methodology, techniques used in decision
making. Practical planning workshop.

Special Project
.Each student will be expected to conduct a research in an area relevant to Human Nutrition and write a
report for presentation in a seminar
Practical Attachment
.(8weeks). Each student will be involved in the implementation of a community-based activity or
participate in a nutrition project (rehabilitation centre, feeding programme, etc.) during the period
between end of the third year and the beginning of the fourth year which will be examined by oral
examination at the beginning of the fourth year.
General Microbiology
.Definition of microbiology, history and economic importance of microbiology, diversity and habitats,
nutrition growth factors, media design, bacterial cell structure and morphology dimensions, microscopy,
growth and culturing, isolation and identification techniques, environmental relations, taxonomy.
Viruses: Physiological and biochemical properties, mycoplasmas, transmission, replication,
symptomatology and classification. Fungi: Nutrition and growth, culturing, reproduction, classification,
different classes, life cycles of important fungi, important mutabilities and food spoilage by fungi.
Physics
.General physics: definitions of work, power and energy, problems involving these concepts; newtonian
mechanics; fluid mechanics; radioactivity and composition of nuclei, isotopes, alpha/beta/gamma
radiation, radioactivity, dose and dose rates, half life, detectors, methods of shielding and applications
of radioactivity; energy conservation, types and sources of energy available to mankind and their
qualitative description, energy and mass balances, mass transfer; heat and optics; thermometry, change
and transfer of heat, water in the atmosphere, thermodynamics, optics; electricity and magnetism,
electric charges, electric fields, circuits, electromagnetism
Agricultural Zoology
.The diversity of animals. Histology and anatomy of vertebrates with emphasis on domestic animals and,
basic ecological principles and concepts.
LEVEL : 1
Semester: 1
Course Code
ACM101

Course Name
Chemistry

Course Hours
80

ACR103

Mathematics

75

ACR116

Genetics

60

AFN102

Human Anatomy & Physiology

75

AZL101

Agricultural Zoology

60

Semester: 2
Course Code
ABC105

Course Name
Biochemistry

Course Hours
90

ACR101

Agricultural Botany

60

ACR104

Plant/crop Physiology

60

AFN101

Introduction To Sociology & Anthropology

45

AFT101

General Microbiology

75

APH101

Physics

75

LEVEL : 2
Semester: 1
Course Code Course Name
ACR201
Principles Of Crop Production

Course Hours
30

ACR206

Statistics I

60

AEC206

Microeconomics

45

AFN201

Introduction To Human Nutrition 75

AFN203

Human Nutrient Requirements

45

AFN205

Food Toxicology

45

AFN207

Field Methods In Anthropology 75

Semester: 2
Course Code Course Name
Course Hours
AAP201
Principles Of Animal Production 60
AEC201

Macroeconomics

45

AEC203

Rural Development

60

AFN206

Food Legislation

45

AFN208

Demography

45

AFT202

Basics Of Food Chemistry

90

Level : 3
Semester: 1
Course Code Course Name
AFN302
Biostatistics

Course Hours
90

AFN304

Food Microbiology & Parasitology

90

AFN306

Food Processing, Preservation & Nutrition Quality 90

AFN307

Applied Dietetics In Food Service Systems

90

AFN308

Maternal & Child Nutrition

45

Semester: 2
Course Code Course Name
Course Hours
AFN301
Analytical Methods In Nutrition & Food Sciences 90
AFN303

Nutritional Deficiencies & Related Diseases

75

AFN305

Environmental Health

60

AFN309

Nutritional Epidemiology

75

AFN310

Social Change & Development

60

AFN400

Practical Attachment

45

Level : 4
Semester: 1
Course Code Course Name
AFN401
Food & Nutrition Programmes At Community Level

Course Hours
75

AFN402

Nutrition Assessment Of Individuals/communities

90

AFN403

Nutrition Education

60

Semester: 2
Course Code Course Name
AEC205
Principles Of Resource Use & Management

Course Hours
30

AFN404

Health & Nutritional Sector Analysis

75

AFN405

Principles Of Nutritional Problem Diagnosis

90

AFN406

Nutrition Planning, Management & Programme Evaluation 75

AFN410

Special Project

120