NFOK15011U Food Quality Management and Control

Volume 2015/2016
Education

MSc Programme in Food Science and Technology
MSc Programme in Food Innovation and Health
MSc Programme in Agricultural Development
MSc Programme in Sustainable Devlopment 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 9001 and ISO 22000 standards, 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 Process Control (SPC) 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.

In a food production the measured outcome - e.g. yield, pH, activity, CFU cannot be seen as one true number but must be thought of as a number with a certain distribution which depends on the input parameters – e.g. type and amount of raw materials. As all input parameters have an uncertainty, this must be taken into consideration when evaluating the quality of the final food product. This course will introduce concepts of how to monitor and verify the input material uncertainty and from this set up a system for what to expect in the final food product produced.

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 quality and safety management system standards and food quality monitoring and verification tools. After completing the course, the students should be able to:

Knowledge: 
- Describe quality management, and food safety management using HACCP, according to international standards on food quality and safety management (e.g. ISO 9001 and ISO 22000). 
- Show overview of how the above mentioned food quality and safety management system standards can be applied in the food industry.
- Use SPC 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 SPC and sampling technologies to monitor and verify process and product specifications 
- Compare the food quality and safety management system standards as to similarities/​differences. 
- 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.

Newslow, D. (2014): Food Safety Management Programs

DS/EN ISO 9001:2008: Quality Management Systems

DS/EN ISO 22000:2005:Food safety management systems - Requirements for any organization in the food chain

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
External censorship
Re-exam

Same as the ordinary examination

Criteria for exam assesment

Fullfilment of the learning outcomes