Food Quality and Safety

Code:

MI075187

Acronym:

QUASAL

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Physical Sciences

Instance: 2021/2022 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Bromatology and Hidrology Laboratory
Course/CS Responsible:	MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MICF	29	Official Curriculum	4	-	3	52	81

Teaching language

Portuguese
Obs.: erá proporcionado aos estudantes: i) Atendimento em inglês; ii) materiais de estudo em inglês; iii) avaliação em inglês. It will be provided to students: i) Assistance in English; ii) English study materials; iii) English evaluation

Objectives

The UC Food Quality and Safety aims to provide and consolidate the students with skills and competences of:

• Identification of the different quality parameters of food,
• Importance of food choices in establishing dietary plans suitable for each individual,
• Identification of the main chemical contaminants, from endogenous and exogenous origin, and proper procedures for the prevention and reduction of its contents in different types of food,
• Basic concepts of risk analysis and perspective of risk associated with a particular food contaminant,
• Implementation of methodologies and Quality Management systems in the Agro-Food Industry, in particular the HACCP system and series ISO 9000 and 22000,
• Advanced chemical characterization of food, including "Foodomics" models.

in order to enable Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences an easy integration in this specific professional area with significant advantages over other graduates.

Within the scope of transversal competences, this Curricular Unit aims to contribute to the development of:

• Cognitive skills: analytical, critical, reflective and creative thinking;
• Methodological skills: time management, planning skills and digital skills;
• Social Skills: interpersonal communication and collaborative work.

Learning outcomes and competences

The main purpose of this UC consists in the acquisition by students of current and fundamental knowledge about the various fields of Food Quality and Food Safety in which pharmacists can and should play an important role given the excellence of its multidisciplinary training with strong components of Chemistry, Biology and Microbiology.

In the theoretical component, expository but stimulating the participation of students, a historical approach to human alimentation and its evolution to the present day is done, followed by the approach to food quality in its different dimensions: nutritional, safety, regulatory and sensory. The first two dimensions are studied in depth in order to provide students with a deep, cross-sectional view of the main issues related to food, including the need for adequate diets (consisting of quality food in appropriate proportions) to provide maximum welfare and health to man, and the importance of avoiding the consumption of unsafe food because of the many potentially possible contamination. The regulatory dimension is also addressed namely in what concerns implementation and management of quality systems in the food industry. In practical component analytical skills acquired by the students throughout their university education are developed and optimized in order to allow their easy integration in a professional environment linked to the monitoring of food quality and provide them with the appropriate tools for proper adequacy of analytical techniques using the analytical parameters of interest and a correct interpretation of different chemical analytical parameters characterizing the different foods.

In this way, future pharmacists acquire skills to develop their activity in different areas of the food sector, namely:

• active participation in food education programs
• food advice within the community pharmacy
• activity in the food industry and distribution sectors, namely in the implementation and management of quality systems
• regulatory tasks
• communication of risks arising from food hazards
• quality control of food.

Learning outcomes directly and indirectly contribute to the overall objectives of the MICF, in particular with regard to:

• Promotion of human health
• Disease control and prevention by adopting healthy lifestyles
• Environmental health awareness and promotion
• Execution, interpretation and validation of bromatological analyzes
• Control and monitoring of food pollutants

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Students must have basic knowledge of biochemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry and instrumental methods of analysis

Program

THEORETICAL COMPONENT

 

1. Brief introduction to the history of food

1.1. Main food concepts.

1.2. Historical evolution: from hunter-gatherers to farmers; from beginnings of agriculture to food globalization.

1.3. Evolution and impact of different food processing techniques.

2. Basic Concepts of Food Safety and Quality

2.1. Food quality (dimensions and quality settings).

2.2. Nutritional dimension. Qualitative and quantitative food selection for the establishment of adequate dietary plans for each individual.

2.3. Sensory dimension.

2.4. Technical dimension. Main national and EU legislation. Compositional evaluation and correlation of the same with the normative standards of quality and authenticity. More commons defects and frauds.

2.5. Safety dimension. Identification and characterization of the major risks throughout the food chain.

2.6. Concepts of self-control and traceability. Importance and characterization of HACCP and ISO standards of the series 9000 and 22000.

3. Food Safety

3.1. Brief description of the different types of food hazards: biological hazards; chemical hazards; dangers of physical nature; Mixed hazards (transgenic, and food irradiation).

3.2. Definition and classification of different types of chemical hazards: allergens; naturally occurring toxins (endogenous and exogenous); contaminants (environmental, resulting from processing and food preparation, wastes originating in agriculture and farming practices, packaging materials migrants, processing manufacturing aids).

3.3. Characterization of the different possibilities for contamination along the food chain. Characterization of some of the most common toxic contaminants and naturally occurring toxins: occurrence, origin, toxicity, mitigation methods (prevention and reduction), legal limits.

4.4. Analytical Methods used in the detection and quantification of contaminants and natural toxins in food products: reference methods; expedite or alternative methods; future trends.

4.5. Understanding risk assessment methods (identification and hazard characterization, exposure assessment, risk characterization), risk management and risk communication.


PRACTICAL COMPONENT

1. General review of the analytical techniques commonly used in the analysis of chemical residues in food.

1.1. Chromatographic techniques, with particular focus on LC and GC techniques associated with mass spectrometry. Quantification methods: importance of using internal standards.

1.2. Other techniques.

2. Food analysis

2.1. Sampling rules.

2.2. Storage of samples.

2.3. Pre-treatment of samples: Homogenization, removal of edible part, protein denaturation, hydrolysis of conjugated compounds, addition of internal standards, etc.

2.4. Extraction / clean-up processes more suited for the analysis of specific compounds or groups of compounds, including advanced preparation techniques: SPE; QuEChERS, MSPD, dispersive techniques, others. Specificity towards the type of matrix.

2.5. Examples of separation and quantification methods for food residues.

2.6. Future perspectives. Food metabolome concept. Chemometric methods and automated methods.

Mandatory literature

Ali, I. ; Food Quality Assurance - Principles and Practices, CRC Press, 2004. ISBN: 1-56676-930-2
Bhat, R., Gómez-López, V.M. ; Practical Food Safety – Contemporary issues and future trends, Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-118-47460-0

Complementary Bibliography

Pollan, M; O dilema do omnívoro , D. Quixote, 2008. ISBN: 978-972-20-3555-2
M. Pollan; Em defesa da comida - Manifesto de um consumidor, D. Quixote, 2009. ISBN: 978-972-20-3880-5
Desphande, S. S. ; Handbook of food toxicology. , 0-8247-0760-5. , 2002. ISBN: Marcel Dekker
Stadler, R.H., Lineback, D.R. ; Process Induced Food Toxicants – Occurrence, formation, mitigation, and health risks, Wiley, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-470-07475-6
Self, R. ; Extraction of Organic Analytes from Foods - A Manual of Methods, RSC, 2005. ISBN: 0-85404-592-9.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The classes will be taught by the teacher responsible, using audiovisual means and will seek to promote the active participation of students. Students will be asked to prepare and present a research work on a specific theme within safety or food quality. For some of the issues to be addressed, particularly those related to the implementation of quality management systems, experts from the food industry could be invited, in order to provide a more concrete approach to the reality of the food sector in Portugal.

keywords

Physical sciences > Chemistry > Applied chemistry > Food chemistry
Natural sciences > Agrarian Sciences > Agricultural products > Food products

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Exame	60,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	40,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	10,00
Estudo autónomo	19,00
Frequência das aulas	52,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

The assistance of students to practical classes is mandatory and students who exceed the limit number of absences, corresponding to 25% of the planned classes, are considered without frequency, according to the evaluation rules in force.

Theoretical classes are not mandatory, although the presence of students is strongly encouraged.

The frequency is valid for the current academic year and for the following 2 academic years. For the current academic year, the frequencies obtained in the academic years 2018/19 and 2019/20 are considered valid.

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation will be conducted through a final written exam dealing all the subjects taught during the semester. Students who can not obtain a minimum of 50% on the final exam, have the right to an appeal examination that will deal the whole program. The weight of the exam grade in the final grade is 60 %, representing the remaining 40% to the classification of the research study made by students within practical classes.

Classification improvement

The improvement of the final classification may be performed through a final test that will focus the entire taugt topics. The corresponding 30 % to the research work done by the students in the context of practical classes will be considered.

Observations

Estudantes de Mobilidade

In addition to students who can quickly develop Portuguese comprehension skills (namely Spanish and Italian), Mobility Students with fluency in English are accepted. The UC is taught in Portuguese, however, the teachers provide bibliography and support in English. In addition, the Mobility Students assessment processes can be, if requested, in English.

Alterações decorrentes do Plano de Contingência Covid-19


In the case of restrictions due to COVID-19, the educational model will be adapted, so that the entire program is fulfilled through theoretical and practical classes at a distance.