The Laboratory was founded in 1956 as part of the Department for Foodstuffs Analysis of the Food and Technological Department of the Faculty of Chemistry, Food and Mining. It was located at the premises of the Faculty of Pharmacy in Domagojska Street until 1962, when it moved to a new building of the Faculty of Technology in Pierottijeva Str. 6. At that time, the lectures in “Foodstuffs analysis” were conducted by Božidar Vajić, PhD. Afterwards, with the change of name and scope, the subject was taught for many years as “Quality control in the food industry”. From 1959, the subject “Special methods of foodstuffs analysis” was taught by the Laboratory staff. It was later changed somewhat and taught under the title “Selected physical and chemical methods in food analysis”. For a number of years, the subjects “Food quality statistical control”, “Knowledge of raw materials in the food industry”, “Microbiological and enzyme methods in food analysis” and “Sensory analysis” were taught. With Prof. Bozidar Vajić, PhD, the teaching staff included Prof. Mirko Filajdić, PhD, Prof. Ljubo Milatović, PhD, Prof. Franjo Mihelić, PhD, Prof. Matilda Grüner, PhD, Senior Lecturer Veljko Jović, MEng, Asst. Prof. Vera Vojnović, PhD, and Prof. Milana Ritz, PhD. As part of their scientific and teaching activities, they wrote numerous textbooks and student readers, published over 200 scientific and professional papers and cooperated with food industries and international organizations such as the ISO and Codex-Alimentarius Commission of FAO/WHO.
More recently, the Laboratory’s teaching activities have been based on the results of research conducted through national and international research projects. They mostly include lectures, seminars and laboratory exercises related to analytical methods of determining food ingredients, food quality parameters, sensory food analysis, food quality management, food safety and traceability in the food chain, and take place through core and elective modules of undergraduate studies of Nutrition and Food Technology, graduate studies of Food Safety Management and Food Engineering, postgraduate doctoral studies of Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, Food Technology and Nutrition, and postgraduate specialized studies of Food Quality and Safety and Food Management.
