Head of Department’s Welcome Address/Introduction:

Welcome to the Department of Food Science and Technology at UNIOSUN. The Department is made up of vibrant researchers and scholars who have a passion for advancing the science and technology of food. The Department is committed to excellence in teaching, research and innovation with a focus on addressing the complex challenges facing the global food system. Our research programs span a wide range of areas, including food processing and preservation, food microbiology and safety, nutrition and health, food analysis and quality control as well as food engineering and technology. These areas are covered in both our undergraduate and graduate degree programs to ensure that students are prepared for careers in the industry, academia and government.

-Adedayo O. ADEBOYE (PhD)
Head of Department

Location: Room 252, Inter-Collegiate Building, Osogbo Campus

Brief History:

The Department of Food Science and Technology first existed as a unit under the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 2018/2019 academic session. The Department was formally inaugurated on the 27th of January 2020. The Department offers a 5-years degree programme leading to the award of B.Sc. (Hons) Food Science and Technology. The Department started with three pioneer staff and has continued to grow in staff strength, student population and infrastructural development over the years.

The Department has cordial relationship with Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) and Archer Daniels Midland Company, USA.

 Mission:

To create a unique Department committed to the pursuit of academic innovation, skill-based training in food processing and a tradition of excellence in teaching, research and community service.

Vision:

To be a centre of excellence providing high quality teaching and learning experiences in Food Science and Technology that will engender the production of entrepreneurial graduates in this discipline, capable of impacting positively on their environment while being globally competitive.

Academic Programmes
B.Sc. Food Science and Technology

Staff List

Research Activities:

1. Quality characteritics of fats from land and aquatic animals, with particular reference to various fish and its parts
2. Quality features of oils from lessser known oilseeds
3. Toxicity levels of various street vended foods, with particular emphasis on the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
4. Quality and safety levels of various baked and fried foods as regards the use of sweeteners and improvers with particular reference to wheat flour based fried and baked foods
5. Extraction and characterizations of proteins, hydrolysates and peptides from under-utilized protein and oil seeds
6. Value addition methods of African leafy vegetables, including their potential and processing characteristics when used as part ingredients in baked and fried products
7. Development of value addition technologies for leafy vegetables with emphasis on new perspectives in their untilizations in terms of improving the protein concentrations through various methods, including pH-dependent extraction method
8. Enzymatic extraction of protein hydrolysates and peptides of different molecular sizes and characterization of bioactive properties of the peptides
9. Investigation into the waste to wealth processing methods of plantain peels and peanut skins, with reference to the evaluation of their bioactive properties and potential applications in foods
10. Investigation into the linkages between the bioactive properties and Per Naira spent during home processing of vegetables in Nigeria.
11. Studies of the linoleic acid inhibition properties of cardaba enriched chinchin and peanut burger.
12. Effects of processing on the physicochemical and phytochemical properties of pumpkin fruit flour
13. Studies on the thermal properties of differently processed pumpkin fruit
14. Effect of Garden Egg inclusion on the Pasting properties, Anti-oxidant Activity and Sensory Evaluation of Yam Flour
15. Phytochemical Characterization of Yam Flour enriched with Garden Egg
16. Evaluation of Phenolic Constituents of Fruit Leather made from African Star Apple and Banana Fruits
17. Phytochemical and Amino Acid Profiling of Water Yam Flour enriched with Mushroom.
18. Studies on poly-gamma-glutamic acid produced as a metabolite during the fermentation of African locust bean seed into iru.
19. Safety assessment of street vended pineapple
20. Safety assessment of street vended Donkunu (Kenkey) and its Sauce
21. Characterization of gari produced from inorganic fertilized cassava tubers as compared with gari from non-fertilized cassava tubers.
22. Development of novel food products such as ice cream analogue and composite flour using orange fleshed sweet potato towards combating malnutrition and reduction in food raw material imports.