Learning objectives
D1- KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course, student will know the biological hazards that can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of food. He will have an in-depth knowledge of the transmission routes, risks and pathological manifestations associated with biological hazards, as well as the impact of foodborne diseases on public health. He will know the regulatory aspects with a particular focus on the current European legislation on food safety and food hygiene, and the approaches and tools for risk management in food production, marketing, and storage.
D2 – APPLICATION SKILLS
At the end of the course, student will be able to assess risks and impact on public health associated with biological hazards of bacterial, viral and parasitic origin transmitted through the consumption of food. Furthermore, he will be able to apply the hygiene requirements laid down by current regulations, recognize health issues, manage a health-related problem, evaluate and adopt useful and adequate strategies for risk management.
D3 – INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT
Student must be able to define the relevant problems related to the contamination by pathogenic biological agents in food, as a function of raw materials, formulation, technological treatments of transformation and preservation, as well as to foresee possible strategies to be implemented to manage the risks and assess the impact of operational decisions made.
D4-COMMUNICATION SKILLS
At the end of the course, it is expected that student is able to appropriately use the scientific language and the specific lexicon of food hygiene and safety, showing the ability to describe and transfer in oral and written form the acquired concepts.
D5-LEARNING SKILLS
After attending the course, student will be able to deepen its knowledge of food hygiene and safety through the independent consultation of specialized texts and scientific and educational journals, even beyond the topics dealt with strictly in class, to face effectively insertion into the working context or undertake further education or training courses.
Prerequisites
There are no compulsory propaedeutical courses.
Course unit content
The course aims to provide the student with a scientific and legislative approach to health and hygiene issues, in particular related to biological agents, in the food sector.
In the first part of the course, foodborne diseases and zoonoses are examined, in particular for general aspects such as epidemiology, surveillance systems, estimation of the impact on public health, the main pathological processes, the pathogenic agents of bacterial, viral and parasitic origin responsible for infectious diseases.
The second part of the course presents an updated overview of the regulatory aspects with particular focus on the current European legislation on food safety and food hygiene. Approaches and tools for identifying, preventing, eliminating and reducing hazards and contamination to an acceptable level during the production, marketing and storage of food are the subject of in-depth analysis.
Full programme
Foodborne diseases and zoonoses: definition and general aspects. Disease processes in foodborne illness. General concepts of epidemiology, surveillance systems, and burden estimate of foodborne illness and zoonoses.
Pathogens of bacterial, viral and parasitic origin responsible for foodborne diseases. Routes of transmission in the food chains.
EU general Food Law Regulation. EU Food Hygiene Regulations. Tools and strategies for identifying, preventing, eliminating and reducing hazards in food to an acceptable level. Prerequisite programmes (PRP) and procedures based on the HACCP principles. Sanitation practices in food environment.
Bibliography
Teaching material provided by the teacher consisting of .pdf files extrapolated from the presentations used during classroom lessons. The updated teaching material is made available by the teacher on the Elly website (https://elly2024.saf.unipr.it) during the course and not all at the beginning of the course. For the purpose of preparing the exam it is recommended not to use the teaching material of previous years as the program may undergo changes and updates from one academic year to another.
For further information on specific topics covered in class, consulting the following books is recommended:
- Foodborne Diseases, Editors C. E.R. Dodd, T. Aldsworth, R. A. Stein, D. O. Cliver, H. P. Riemann. 2017, 3rd Edition, Academic Press.
- Foodborne Pathogens and Food Safety. Editors Md Latiful Bari, Dike O. Ukuku, 2015, 1st Edition, CRC press.
Teaching methods
Lectures will be performed in presence in the classroom, according to the teaching calendar. The course includes lectures and case-study
discussions that will be carried out with the help of iconographic material collected in presentations. In the event of health emergency, the methods of teaching may be subject to changes that will be promptly communicated at Elly website and/or in the course website. If necessary, due to health emergency, teaching will be provided by Teams (guide at
http://selma.unipr.it/) and lectures will be recorded.
Assessment methods and criteria
The achievement of the objectives of the course will be verified by a written test. This latter will consist of questions designed to verify D1- KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING, D2 – APPLICATION SKILLS and D3 – INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT. Some of the expected learning outcomes described by the indicators D4-COMMUNICATION SKILLS and D5-LEARNING SKILLS are not directly assessed, but parts of the classroom lessons are structured in such a way as to propose to students real situation and problems, with respect to which the students themselves must carry out an analysis, evaluation and discussion.
The written test will consist of questions aimed at verifying knowledge about a) basic concepts of epidemiology, surveillance systems and burden estimate of foodborne illness and zoonoses; b) diseases processes in foodborne illness; c) pathogens of bacterial, viral and parasitic origin responsible for infectious diseases; d) European legislation on food safety and food hygiene; e) tools and strategies for identifying, preventing, eliminating and reducing hazards in food to an acceptable level.
The written test will be performed in person in the classroom through the Elly platform.
The written test will consist of multiple-choice questions. Each question will have 4 answer options, of which only one is correct. The test will be organized in two phases, one following the other to be taken in the same exam session.
PHASE 1: 10 questions; move on to PHASE 2 only if a minimum of 9 out of 10 answers are correct; otherwise, the test is considered finished, the exam is considered NOT passed and the student will have to perform the test in a subsequent exam session. No points will be awarded at this stage.
PHASE 2: 31 questions; each correct answer will be awarded 1 point; each wrong answer or answer not given will be assigned a penalty of -0.5 points. The time available to carry out the test will be 25 minutes.
The exam is considered passed if the score acquired is equal to or higher than 18 (out of a maximum of 31). The sum of the points obtained in PHASE 2 will correspond to the exam grade. A score of 31 will correspond to a grade of 30/30 cum laude.
There is no oral exam.
In case the written exam in person cannot be carried out due to the health emergency, the exam will be performed online by Teams platform through a written test (the same described above) through the Elly website.
Students with DSA, BSE, or disabilities may submit a request to take advantage of the envisaged compensatory and/or dispensatory measures during the examination by contacting the Centro Accoglienza e Inclusione (https://cai.unipr.it/en/).
Other information
In the event of a serious health emergency, the methods of teaching and exams may be subject to changes that will be promptly communicated in Elly website and/or in the course website.
