IMPFT129K Scientific principles of minerals in food

 

Overview

This standard is about the scientific principles of minerals in food. It is about understanding the properties and availability of minerals to human nutrition.

This standard is for you if you need a broad understanding of the science of minerals, their physical and chemical properties and their common sources in contributing to human nutrition. You need to understand how food processing can reduce the availability of minerals and which mineral salts are unable to be utilised by the human digestive system.

 

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand:

1 the features of potassium and sodium as elements in the periodic table

2 what our main food and drink sources of potassium and sodium salts are

3 how the sources of potassium and sodium salts vary in quality and usefulness

4 what the physical and chemical properties are of commonly occurring potassium and sodium salts

5 the features of calcium and phosphorus as elements in the periodic table

6 what our main food and drink sources of calcium salts are

7 how the sources of calcium salts vary in quality and usefulness

8 what the physical and chemical properties are of calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate salts

9 the features of iron as an element in the periodic table

10 what our main food and drink sources of iron are

11 how the sources of iron vary in quality and usefulness

12 what the physical and chemical properties are of commonly occurring iron salts

13 the features of the trace elements in the periodic table

14 what our main food and drink sources of the trace elements are

15 what the physical and chemical properties of the trace elements are

16 how food processing techniques can reduce the content and availability of mineral salts in our foods

17 the advantages of fortification of foods with minerals

18 why and in what circumstances minerals can be poisonous

19 the mineral salts which cannot be absorbed by the body

 

Keywords Food; Mineral; Chemistry; Science; Calcium; Phosphorus; Iron; Zinc; Salts