NFOK15011U Food Quality Management and Control

Volume 2016/2017
Education

MSc Programme in Food Science and Technology

MSc Programme in Food Innovation and Health
MSc Programme in Agricultural Development
MSc Programme in Sustainable Development in Agriculture (Agris Mundus)

Content

The course will introduce the concepts of quality management and control from three different/complementary perspectives: 1) a detailed reading of the ISO 22000 standard, and insight into the use of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) for the management of food safety; 2) monitoring of the food quality based on process monitoring tools such as Statistical Quality Control (SQC) and Lean Six Sigma to ensure a food product with minimal variation; and 3) sampling and verification of the food production – how to ensure that a proper sample is taken that is representative for the whole food production chain/batch/line.

Producing food requires understanding of all process steps, and knowledge of the performance of each step is critical to estimate the variability of the final product. Knowing the variability makes it possible to find solutions for adjusting it, if it is not in accordance with the process step and/or end-product specifications. Thus, the idea of measuring, understanding, adjusting, monitoring and controlling variability throughout the production is a key topic of this course.

Quality in this course will be seen both in a wide context; i.e. as proof of product specification meaning that the variability of the food produced is known and below or within an acceptable limit to ensure customer satisfaction, as well as in a more narrow context; i.e. as food safety meaning that the amount of hazards is below a certain limit.

Learning Outcome

The main objective of this course is to provide the students with knowledge on international food safety management system standards and food quality monitoring and verification tools. After completing the course, the students should be able to:

Knowledge: 
- Describe food safety management, using HACCP, according to international standards on food safety management (e.g. ISO 22000). 
- Show overview of how the above mentioned food safety management system standards can be applied in the food industry.
- Use monitoring systems (e.g. real-time measurements), Six Sigma and SQC like tools to get knowledge of and to monitor critical control points in a food production and also to understand how the measurement uncertainty of process steps will influence the uncertainty/variability of the food product parameters.
- Describe how a food production should be sampled to ensure that process variation is understood and under control.

Skills: 
- Apply HACCP for food safety management.
- Use SQC and sampling technologies to monitor and verify process and product specifications.
- Communicate orally problems and solutions within food quality and safety management. 

Competences:  
- Evaluate whether existing and/or new control strategies are appropriate in order to achieve safe and robust food products.
- Evaluate how the raw materials and production steps can be monitored to get an even better control of the final food product.

See Absalon for specific course literature.

Lectures, theoretical practicals, and seminars. The lectures introduce theoretical and practical aspects of international systems on quality/food safety management and control. The theoretical practicals and seminars will help the students to interpret and obtain an understanding of the above mentioned aspects.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Colloquia
  • 20
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Lectures
  • 30
  • Preparation
  • 40
  • Project work
  • 105
  • Theory exercises
  • 10
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 20 min
Description of Examination: 3 weeks before the examination, all examination questions (covering the essential issues of the course) are handed out. At the time of examination, one question is drawn, and the examination proceeds without preparation time. Half of the time will be used on the drawn question; the other half on random questions within the curriculum.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
More than one internal examiner
Re-exam

Same as the ordinary examination

Criteria for exam assesment

Cf. Learning Outcome.