Learning objectives
Students will acquire knowledges on traditional and innovative methods applied in official controls to trace and manage backward from consumer to fork, principal bacterial pathogens found in food of animal origin and associated to foodborne illnesses. Moreover, the students will be able to assess the quality of biosecurity measures applied in farms and manage the risk factors by using practical, economically feasible and flexible measures. Finally, the students will be initialised to use molecular databases available internationally for tracking microbial risks aiming at improving food safety for consumers.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
• EU regulations related to surveillance of zoonotic bacterial pathogens, information management system and approved methods for official controls (IMSOC) for foodborne outbreaks
• Phenotypic and genotyping methods for bacterial typing with special focus on: pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE); Multilocus sequence typing (MLST); Multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), whole genome sequencing related typing (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) calling, core and whole genome MLST (cgMLST, wgMLST)
• Genotypic and phenotypic characterisation of antimicrobial resistance
• Example of application of different techniques for epidemiological typing in the food industry.
• How to manage on farm the food borne infectious disease
• Longitudinal integrated food safety approach in the pre -harvest phase of the food chain.
• Principles of biosecurity, vaccination and hygiene practices applied in food producing animal farms.
• Visit of animal farms to assess and manage possible risk factors related to their structural
• Working groups for the preparation of reports on the overall risks identified in the animal farms: discussion of the collected data and proposals to effectively achieve zoonosis prevention, improvement of animal health and welfare and consequently increase food safety
Full programme
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Bibliography
Notes of lectures; scientific publications;
Biosecurity in Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine-From principles to practice
Edited by: Jeroen Dewulf, Ghent University, Belgium, Filip Van Immerseel, Ghent University, Belgium
Teaching methods
Face-to-face lectures, scientific seminaries, on farm visits, laboratories activities
Assessment methods and criteria
This course includes two modules Bacterial traceability and food safety” and Multiple-choice tests for “Farm Biosecurity and Zoonotic Diseases Prevention”. Final grading of the entire integrated course is calculated as an average of the scores obtained in the two. The examination commission includes teachers of both courses.
Oral examination for "Bacterial traceability and food safety” and Multiple-choice tests for “Farm Biosecurity and Zoonotic Diseases Prevention". The oral examination will verify the theoretical and applicative knowledges of the student.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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