AQF220 Safety and Human Health Effects of Aquatic Food

Credits (ECTS):7.5

Course responsible:Odd Ivar Lekang

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:187,5 hours total work load

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel, .

About this course

The course will allow student to identify hazards and to discuss how processing, distribution and consumer handling will influence safety and health effects of aquatic food. Relevant biological and chemical hazards in aquatic food are presented including pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites, aquatic biotoxins, histamine/biogenic amines and industrial and environmental contaminants. Quantitative microbial ecology, mathematical modelling and software are included for evaluation and management of hazards during processing and distribution of aquatic food to the end-consumers. Functional aquatic food components (omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, proteins/peptides, taurine, selenium, iodine, chitosan, antioxidants, polysaccharides, macro algae) and their beneficial human health effects are presented and evaluated in relation to regulations, health claims and risk benefit analysis.

The course includee-learning with webinars and it is important that students have access to Internet and can be reached by e-mail.

Learning outcome

A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to: - Describe basic concepts of aquatic food risk analysis. - Apply the HACCP system for safety management of aquatic food. - Describe human health benefits of aquatic food consumption. - Evaluate and compare risks and human health benefits of aquatic food consumption. - Explain human health benefits of specific functional aquatic food components. - Analyse data from database about aquatic food-borne diseases outbreaks - Apply predicative microbiology software to evaluate microbial hazards in aquatic foods - Review and analyse data in a synthetic report - Critically analyse "hot topics"related to safety and health of aquatic foods
  • The course will include lectures that could be followed online on web or as recorded files. In addition there will be exercises to solve.
  • Bachelor degree in for instance enginering, biology, chemistry, food, animal husbandry, aquaculture, fishery.
  • Written exam (3 hours). The language shall be English.
  • The external and internal examiner jointly prepare the exam questions and the correction manual. The external examiner reviews the internal examiner's examination results by correcting a random sample of candidate's exams as a calibration according to the Department's guidelines for examination markings.
  • Two mandatory reports/group work must be passed before exam. The language shall be English.
  • Part of the AQ-food cooperation with NTNU and UoI. The course is given by representatives from the three universities in the program. The course is e-learning and can be followed on web. Odd-Ivar Lekang will be the local responsible and is available for questions.
  • Structured lectures 24 hours, guided working with exercieses 20 hours,
  • Letter grades
  • Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)