Year
2024Credit points
5Campus offering
Prerequisites
UNMC593 Advanced Culinary Nutrition Science in Practice - Theory
Incompatible
NUTR504 Foods for Special Diets in Practice
Unit rationale, description and aim
Special diets are not a new phenomenon yet in recent years the perceived and real need for foods for special diets has increased dramatically. Through a contemporary analysis of the place of special diets within our modern foodscape, this microcredential builds on UNMC593 Advanced Culinary Nutrition Science in Practice - Theory and UNMC594 Advanced Culinary Nutrition Science in Practice – Practical and facilitates students’ critical examination of popular and evidence-based diets for the maintenance of health and treatment of disease. Students will be expected to develop advanced food/ingredient and menu knowledge, critical understanding of special diet food regulations and food service standards.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Evaluate and synthesise the scientific evidence related to foods and diets, including expert food and ingredient knowledge, and critical understanding of food and diet-related regulatory considerations designed for specific purposes |
| LO2 | Present scientific evidence in highly meaningful engaging formats for a range of audiences |
Content
Topics will include:
Nutrition and diets throughout the ages
Conditions requiring prescriptive diets
Food standards, including recipe guidelines and nutrient criteria, for special diets in food service
Theoretical bases for modified texture, energy and protein diets and foods
Theoretical bases for modified macronutrient diets and foods, limited examples provided below
Gluten-free
Wheat-free
Modified lactose
Modified fibre
Low, no-carbohydrate
Low, no sugar
Modified sweetener
Modified fat
Low FODMAPs
Vegetarian and veganism
Carbohydrate counting
Portion control
Ketogenic diet
Paleo diet
Theoretical bases for modified micronutrient/other bioactive components of diets and foods, limited examples below
Sodium
Antioxidants
Theoretical bases for modified other
Specific food inclusions or exclusions
Allergens and intolerances
Elimination Diets
Menu planning principles for pregnancy and aged care
Nutrient composition and laboratory analysis of foods for special diets
Theory and practice of food and nutrition writing for multimedia
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The microcredential content will be available throughout the determined teaching period but will be designed to be able to be completed over a minimum of 2 weeks, with submission of the assessment task following.
The microcredential begins with approaches designed to support acquisition of specialist knowledge of foods and ingredients in special diets, evidence and regulations for these diets, and then moves on to communication of special diets across multiple media. The approaches used to facilitate students’ learning include asynchronous online interactive learning modules. Interaction will be driven by engagement with forums using formats with high visual impact e.g. Padlet.
The approaches used in this microcredential have a constructively aligned developmental sequence designed to progressively, and logically, support students learning in ways that maximise the perceived (and actual) relevance and value of each activity. It is expected to engender high levels of engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness in students’ study behaviours, and to maximise their learning achievements. This strategy and approaches will allow students to meet the aim and learning outcomes of the microcredential. Learning and teaching approaches will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively in learning activities.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In this microcredential, a single assessment tasks will involve a written assessment task submitted anytime within the teaching period. This task provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to critically evaluate and communicate complex evidence related to foods for special diets.
This assessment task will allow microcredential coordinators to assess students’ demonstration of the learning outcomes.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Written assessment task: Enables students to demonstrate their ability to source and use scientific evidence to critically evaluate a current food/diet trend and create suitable media to communicate findings | 100% | LO1, LO2 |
Representative texts and references
Agency for Clinical Innovation. (2011). Therapeutic Diet Specifications: For Adult Inpatients. Retrieved from https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/160557/ACI_AdultDietSpecs-march2017.pdf Note: this document is under constant revision and updates must be retrieved from https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/resources/nutrition/nutrition-food-in-hospitals/nutrition-standards-diets.
Chendard, C.A., Rubenstein, L.M. Snetselaar, L.G. & Wahls, T. L. (2019). Nutrient Composition Comparison between a Modified Paleolithic Diet for Multiple Sclerosis and the Recommended Healthy U.S.-Style Eating Pattern. Nutrients, 11(3), 537, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11030537.
Coeliac Australia. (2023). Food Service. Retrieved from https://coeliac.org.au/for-business/resources/
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). (2019). Food Standards Code. Retrieved from http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/Pages/default.aspx.
Healthy Eating Advisory Service. Healthy Choices Guidelines: http://heas.health.vic.gov.au/healthy-choices/guidelines .
History of Nutritional Science – in 4 parts:
Carpenter, K. J. (2003). A Short History of Nutritional Science: Part I (1785-1885). The Journal of Nutrition, 133(3), 638-45, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.3.638;
Carpenter, K. J. (2003). A Short History of Nutritional Science: Part 2 (1885-1912). The Journal of Nutrition, 133(4), 975-84, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.4.975;
Carpenter, K. J. (2003). A Short History of Nutritional Science: Part 3 (1912-1944). The Journal of Nutrition, 133(10), 3023-32, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.10.3023;
Carpenter, K. J. (2003). A Short History of Nutritional Science: Part 4 (1945-1985). The Journal of Nutrition, 133(11), 3331-42, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.11.3331.
Menu Planning Guidelines for Long Day care http://heas.health.vic.gov.au/early-childhood-services/menu-planning/long-day-care/guidelines.
Mozaffarian, D., Rosenberg, I. & Uauy, R. (2018). History of modern nutrition science—implications for current research, dietary guidelines, and food policy. BMJ, 361:k2392, doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2392.