MVI395 Safety in Industrial Processes

Credits (ECTS):10

Course responsible:Bjørn Arne Lindstedt

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk, norsk

Limits of class size:50

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:Lectures and excercises: 78 hours. Self study: 172 hours. Total: 250 hours

Teaching and exam period:Spring paralell

About this course

The course deals with various topics relevant for industrial production of safe food. The topics will enligthen how to help achieve the UN's sustainable development goals 2 (zero hunger), 3 (good health and well-being) and 12 (responsible consumption and production) :

  • Sanitation and hygienic design
  • Quality assurance revision
  • Nanotechnology and food
  • Challenges with biofilm formation
  • Outbreaks and outbreak investigations
  • HACCP and quality systems
  • Legislation (nationally and internationally)
  • Antibiotic resistance, resistance towards desinfectants
  • Food security and food fraud

Learning outcome

Knowledge

On completion of the course the student should be able to:

Explain key concepts in food security and key factors that affect international food security (such as soil degradation, demography, conflicts, epidemics/pandemics and climate change).

Explain what the term food fraud entails, and know the food products that are most susceptible to fraud.

Explain how the authorities in Norway and international (EU) authorities investigate, track and resolve disease outbreaks with food-borne microbes. Know about methods for epidemiological and laboratory investigations of outbreaks, the division of responsibility and the legislation applicable to outbreaks locally and nationally.

Explain important principles in industrial hygiene, cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, hygienic design and problems related to biofilm.

Explain the growing problem caused by antibiotic-resistant microbes, and be familiar with selected mechanisms for the spread of resistance.

Explain problems caused by pests (mainly insects) in food businesses.

Explain applications of nanotechnology in the food industry, and possible health effects.

Explain how quality audits are performed in companies.

Skills

On completion of the course the student should be able to:

Provide guidance and lead work that includes food safety and hygiene in production. Know of the intended use of newer nanotechnology and pest problems.

Provide guidance and lead work to reduce the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Understand the relationship between agents and the development of cross-resistance.

Provide guidance and understand how Norwegian and international authorities work when solving food-borne outbreaks. Understand the connection between Norwegian and European legislation.

General competence

On completion of the course the student should be able to:

Reflect on the relationship between factors such as hygiene, hygienic design, the role of authorities in outbreaks, resistance development and the introduction of new technology in industrial food production.

Reflect on important principles and issues in food safety and food safety related to the entire food chain.

  • Lectures and group discussions of selected topics.
  • The course responsible can be contacted via email (bjornl@nmbu.no) and Canvas.
  • MVI230, MVI273, MVI274 and MVI275 (or equivalent).
  • Final, written exam in WISEflow (3.5 hrs), counts 100 %.
  • An external examinator evaluates a minimum of 25 exam papers.
  • Six lectures / excerises per week.
  • M-MATVIT
  • Letter grades
  • Special requirements in science