Learning objectives
The course is aimed at enabling the student to know and understand the principles of national and European food legislation and the food safety control system. In particular, the members and tools of the official control system will be known. In addition, it aims at providing in-depth knowledge about the meat processing technologies with emphasis on typical Italian meat products.
The student will have to use the gained knowledge to identify the health issues related to the different food productions, the members of the official control and the most appropriate management tools. The student will be provided with technical knowledge on meat processing technologies.
Prerequisites
Adequate knowledge on microbiology, biology, and animal production
Course unit content
• Hazards in food
• Microbiological hazards and foodborne diseases of bacterial, viral and parasitic origin.
• Chemical hazards and chemical contamination of food: national control plan, official control of plant protection products in food.
• Hygiene and sanitary control.
-Official control system.
-The system of own-checks. Prerequisite programs (SOP and SSOP) and HACCP system. Some examples of applications.
• Notes on the certifications of the food supply chains.
• National legislation on food safety and control.
-The protection of public health as part of the Criminal Code.
-The Law 283/62 on food and beverage hygiene: aims and principles.
• European legislation on food safety and control.
- The Hygiene Package: objectives and general .
-The rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF).
• Meat sector
-Definition of fresh meat, meat preparations, meat products, mechanically separated meat (MSM).
- Technical, hygiene and sanitary aspects of farm animal slaughter: requirements for slaughterhouses, cutting plants and meat manufacturing establishments.
- The processing of meat: production technology of the main Italian meat products (dry cured ham, cooked ham, salami, mortadella).
• Animal by-products: the Regulation (EC) 1069/2009.
Full programme
Hazards arising from food consumption. Biological, chemical and physical contaminations of food. Factors affecting the hazards of food
Main foodborne diseases of bacterial, viral and parasitic origin.
The system of hygiene and sanitary controls
Official control and the system of own-checks. Prerequisites and HACCP system.
Control of biological contamination. The Regulation (CE) 2073/2005. Food safety criteria and process hygiene criteria
Control of chemical contamination: the national residue plan (PNR), the control plan of plant protection products in food
Notes on the voluntary certification systems of the food supply chians. National and European legislation on food safety and control. Commercial and sanitary fraud. The Hygiene Package and the European regulations.
Meat sector. Technical, hygiene and sanitary aspects of farm animal slaughter. Animal by-products: the Regulation (EC) 1069/2009.
The processing of meat: production technology of the main Italian meat products (dry cured ham, cooked ham, salami, mortadella)
Bibliography
• Teaching material provided by the teacher.
• Igiene e tecnologie degli alimenti di origine animale, a cura di Giampaolo Colavita (Point Veterinaire Italie, Edizione 2023).
• European Regulations on food safety.
• Guida alla legislazione alimentare di Daniele Pisanello (EPC Libri, III Edizione, 2022).
Teaching methods
The course is based on lectures, delivered with the support of audiovisual projection systems, and case-study discussion.
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 the acquired level of basic knowledge and terminology, and to evaluate the critical capacity of the student in dealing with issues related to the management of food safety and controls and to meat processing technologies. There is no oral exam.
The written test will be performed in person in the classroom through the Elly platform. The time available for the written test will be 20 minutes. The enrolled student who intends to take the exam will have to go to the classroom equipped with a notebook or tablet in order to connect to the Elly website and take the test. The written test will consist of 31 multiple-choice questions (with only one correct answer). Each question will have 4 answer options, of which only one is correct. Each correct answer will be awarded 1 point; 0 points will be awarded for each wrong or not given answer. The exam is passed if the score acquired is equal to or greater than 18 (out of a maximum of 31). The sum of the points earned in the test will correspond to the exam grade. Score equal to 31 (out of a maximum of 31) will correspond to the grade 30/30 and honors. 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 (guide http://selma.unipr.it/), through a written test (the same described above) through the Elly website (https://elly2023.vet.unipr.it).
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 to Elly (at https://elly2023.veterinaria.unipr.it) and/or in the course website.
