Food and Nutrition

Food and Nutrition, in the Department of Biology and Food, School of Science and the Environment at Bath Spa University (BSU) can date its origins back to 1892. We were one of the first institutions to offer the BSc degree in home economics[1].

We continue to build on these foundations and deliver research and scholarship informed food and nutrition programmes in a student centred environment, evidenced by nearly a 90% rise in FS FTEs over the last 5 years. As a subject we pride ourselves in providing education in food, nutrition, health and well being to students with and without a science background and providing the sector with tomorrows food and nutrition practitioners. This unique nature of our subject has been highly commented in periodic quality assurance reviews[2].

Food and Nutrition offers several undergraduate courses which have three main themes:

The food supply chain – food production, particularly product development
Human nutrition
Health and well being

BSc (Hons) Food with Nutrition (single honours award) embraces two of the above themes (the food supply chain and human nutrition) to provide a holistic view of the impact of food provision throughout the food chain with particular reference to consumers.

BSc (Hons) Diet and Health (specialised award) focuses on human nutrition and health. The programme’s primary aim is to develop knowledge and understanding of the role of diet in human health, well-being and disease.

BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition (specialised award) is aimed at students with a strong background in science and focuses on the understanding of the principles underlying human nutritional requirements throughout life, in health and disease.

BSc (Hons) Food and Nutrition (combined award) enables students to study one or two of the main themes – nutrition and food safety are the most popular.

The programmes aim to foster career readiness, and employment destinations of recent graduates indicate this aim is being achieved. Both staff and students have the opportunity to maintain links and collaborate with potential employers through part-time student employment, project work with industry, staff consultancy (Centre for Food Product Development, Western Food and Health Forum) and membership of professional bodies, notably the Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Nutrition Society. Many of the staff are able to draw on their research and industrial experience in their teaching.

We are passionate about teaching and we develop our research to inform our programmes and modules. We constantly update our modules and teaching material through interaction with colleagues in both the private and public sector with a view to enhancing your experience and employability.

Our Facilities

We have ready access to a suite of modern laboratories including dedicated physico-chemical and microbiological analyses. Skilled technical staff complement these facilities.

The specialist facilities allow for detailed food analysis (protein, fat, carbohydrate, ash etc); microbiological analysis; recipe formulation, product development, shelf-life testing, packaging development and sensory evaluation. The specialist analytical equipment enables the measurement of micronutrients, vitamins and colour. Our contacts also give us access to other specialist analytical equipment.

We also have specialist nutritional and Hazard analysis software.

These facilities aid us in preparing you for professional life. It gives us the opportunity to allow you to use equipment that is current and up to date.

We are constantly improving our facilities to further enhance our teaching.

[1] Anon (1993), The History of home economics in Bath, Home Economics and Technology, June.

[2] Internal Periodic review, April 2004.