Sanitary Inspection II

Code:

MV521

Acronym:

ISII

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Food Hygiene

Instance: 2023/2024 - 2S (of 12-02-2024 to 07-06-2024)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Aquatic Production
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Masters Degree in Veterinary Medicine

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIMV	55	Official Study Plan	5	-	5	70	135

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Understand the general principles of the European Food Law (Regulation (EC) 178/2002): the integrated framework ("from farm to fork"), responsibility (greater involvement of all stakeholders), transparency (information provided to authorities), cooperation (product withdrawal) and harmonization (European citizenship).

Recognize Risk Analysis as the cornerstone of food security. Have a formal knowledge of risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. Understand the benefits of directly linking potential food-related hazards with epidemiological data about Human health. Understand that this rational method reduces the incidence of foodborne diseases, stimulates continuous improvement in food safety, and strengthens consumer protection and, as such, global trade.

Understand the general hygiene rules applying to all foodstuffs (Regulation (EC) 852/2004) and the specific hygiene rules for products of animal origin (Regulation (EC) 853/2004), as well as the specific rules for the organization of official controls on products of animal origin (Regulation (UE) 625/2017) regarding official controls and other activities that ensure the implementation of official controls and other official activities aimed at ensuring the enforcement of food and feed legislation and rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products

Briefly explain the scientific basis that supports European food legislation, as well as the flexibility needed to accommodate the specific needs of each establishment.

Explain why and how the nature and intensity of the official controls should be based on the assessment of public health risks, animal health and welfare, where possible, on the type and throughput of the processes carried out, and on the food business operator concerned.

The transmission of theoretical knowledge and the technical preparation of students on veterinary inspective acts that fall in i) poultry meat, lagomorphs meat, wild game and farmed game meat; ii) minced meat, mechanically separated meat, meat preparations, meat products, and processed fishery products; iii) live bivalve mollusks, fishery products, and processed fishery products; iv) eggs and eggproducts; v) milk and dairy products; vi) honey; and vii) frogs' legs and snails.

Be aware that in addition to ante-, in-, and post-mortem inspection, the official veterinarian is also responsible for i) animal welfare (Regulation (EC) 1099/2009) and ii) specified risk material and other animal by-products (Regulation (EC) 1069/2009).

Preparing students for conducting audits of good hygiene practices and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP)-based procedures in food business operators, checking in a very generic way i) traceability and food-chain information; ii) the design and maintenance of premises and equipment; iii) pre-operational, operational and post-operational hygiene; iv) personal hygiene and training in hygiene and in work procedures; v) pest control; vi) water quality; and vii) temperature control.

Practical exercises about microbiological analysis of foodstuffs collected in various stages of preparation, processing, packaging, storage and distribution. In the end, students are encouraged to interpret the results considering both microbiological standards and legal requirements, i.e. criteria for foodstuffs and Process hygiene criteria (Regulation (EC) 2073/2005).

After successful completion of the course, the students should dominate legislation contents and should have acquired theoretical and practical skills to perform a quality evaluation in regard to food hygiene and safety, nutritional value, sensory aspects, storage stability, convenience, economic value, and social perceptiveness.

Learning outcomes and competences

A - PROFESSIONAL GENERAL ATTRIBUTES AND CAPACITIES
1. Use one’s professional capabilities to contribute, as far as possible, to the advancement of veterinary knowledge, in order to benefit veterinary practice and further improve the protection of public health.

B - KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
1. The essentials of food quality evaluation in regard to food hygiene and safety, nutritional value, sensory aspects, storage stability, convenience, economic value, and social perceptiveness.
2. The national and European legislation regarding veterinary conduct for the prevention and control of food-derived hazards in human health.
3. The principles and methods of microbiological, parasitic, chemical, physical, and biotechnological risk-analysis of animal food products, and the application of the control tools and promotion of food safety.
4. The objectives, nature, and frequency of inspection procedures during the slaughter of poultry, lagomorphs, farm and wild game, and the corresponding decisions in the case of non-compliance.

C - PRACTICAL COMPETENCES
1. Perform the appropriate inspection acts during poultry, lagomorphs, farm, and wild game slaughter, namely:
a) Verify and interpret the information related to the food chain, considering them when carrying out the ante- and post-mortem examination;
b) Perform an ante-mortem inspection of all animals before slaughter;
c) Assess, according to the previous procedures, the nature and degree of the necessary actions for the protection of intervening personnel and prevention of facilities contamination;
d) Verify continuous compliance with hygiene requirements during slaughtering;
e) Inspect, during and after slaughter, the carcasses and related offal;
f) Ensure that complementary laboratory tests are performed when needed;
g) Supervise the presence of health marks and their use;
h) Document and classify the motive of rejection, according to their cause or origin;
i) Evaluate the need and utility of inspection results to the food business operator and competent authorities.
2. Verify and implement sanitary procedures and hygienic requirements for the safety of food products of animal origin.
3. Plan and perform audits of food establishments, according to the type and throughput of the processes carried out as well as the estimated human and animal health risk, including:
a) Systematically verify legal compliance with its operating conditions;
b) Assess the collection of samples obtained for the evaluation of the hygiene and food safety procedures;
c) Interpretation of laboratory assays and verification of legal compliance;
d) Document collected data and propose correction actions.

Working method

Presencial

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

A - General knowledge:
Veterinary ethics
Agriculture and agricultural policy
Biochemistry
Microbiology
Morpho-physiology
Pharmacology and toxicology
Food technology
Epidemiology
Public Health

B - Expertise in livestock species:
Animal behavior and animal welfare
Livestock production
General pathology and pathological anatomy
Medical semiology
Parasitology and pathology of parasitic diseases
Pathology of infectious diseases

Program

THEORETICAL:

I. PRESENTATION of the CURRICULAR UNIT: program; didactics; hands-on learning; approval; evaluation.

II. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE of FOOD SECURITY and FOOD SAFETY. The role of veterinarians over time; Major social challenges related to the curricular unit: i) health, demographic changes and well-being; ii) food safety and animal welfare; iii) research and development, quality control, process improvement, and bioeconomy (especially focused on the blue economy); iv) food literacy and promotion of healthy diets; v) sustainability of the food chain, based on Sustainable Development Goals and Life Cycle Assessment of products, considering the management of wild populations (e.g., shoals), resource efficiency, reuse of by-products, sustainable waste management, climate action, and environment protection.

III. SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT of the national and European food legislation and the GENERAL HYGIENE RULES applying to all foodstuffs (Regulation (EC) 852/2004) and the SPECIFIC HYGIENE RULES FOR PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN (Regulation (EC) 853/2004) and official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products (Regulation (EU) 625/2017).

IV. Official controls of POULTRY MEAT. The importance of the poultry sector in Portugal and in the world. The special ways of rearing chickens (certification through Independent Control Bodies and the relationship between production systems and food quality and safety. Slaughter for domestic consumption and direct sale of small quantities. Standards for marketing and placing poultry meat on the market. Protection of welfare, technology and hygiene in the slaughter process (collection of birds at the farm and transport to the slaughter centre, stay on the dock for receiving live birds and impact of the "time of rest”, suspension of birds on the slaughter line, stunning, bleeding, scalding and plucking, evisceration, rapid refrigeration, critical points for microbial colonization on the slaughter line, verification of water absorption in the carcasses, application of the identification mark. Examination post mortem (alteration, cause, decision, risk category): poultry production process, pathology, collection for slaughter, transport and unloading, and slaughter process.

V. Official controls of FISHERY PRODUCTS and LIVE BIVALVE MOLLUSkS. Fresh fish products, mechanically separated, prepared, and processed fish products. live bivalve mollusks and echinoderms, live tunicates, and live marine gastropods intended for human consumption. In this chapter, general aspects of fish as food are discussed and some important concepts related to this food group are reviewed. The origin of the fish (wild and aquaculture) and its current path are characterized. The degradation of this type of food is reviewed, as a basis for a more adequate understanding of all methods of evaluating the quality of fish, nowadays available to inspectors of this type of food. Next, the specific safety of fish is addressed, from the types of agents involved, to the most frequent problems, to the respective solutions. The HACCP in fish is mentioned, addressing dangers, risks, and more frequent critical control points. Finally, an integrative approach to fish quality, safety, and inspection is taken.

VI. Official controls of LAGOMORPHS. Relationship between the mode of production and the most prevalent pathologies in rabbits, Inspection criteria in the context of live examination and post mortem examination. Critical points on the slaughter line. Causes of rejection in the post-mortem examination (epizootics, technopathies, skin pathology, respiratory pathology, digestive pathology, parasites, and zoonoses).

VII. INSPECTION and CLASSIFICATION of EGGS. Nutritional value of eggs and evolution of consumption. Oogenesis and egg structure. Sanitary inspection of fresh eggs (impact of age of laying hens on the safety and nutritional value of eggs, changes in the shell, alterations in the white and yolk.) Changes during storage (dehydration, viscosity of the white and inhibitory activity of the proteins in the white, oscillation in the pH, and change in the permeability of the yolk membrane). Microbiological and chemical contamination. Egg marketing standards. Egg classification (quality and weight categories). Delivery circuit and packaging centers. Producer code and mode of production of chickens (Biologic, Free, Soil, and Cage). Relationship between the methods of rearing chickens and environmental safety and sustainability. Egg refrigeration. Health advantages and disadvantages of washing eggs. Health rules for the production of egg products. Official control of eggs and egg products. Good practices in domestic storage and handling of eggs.

VIII. Official controls of MINCED MEAT, MECHANICALLY SEPARATED MEAT, MEAT PREPARATIONS and PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCTS.

IX. Official controls of MILK and DAIRY PRODUCTS.

X. Official controls of FROGS' LEGS and SNAILS (and mushrooms).

XI. BEEKEEPING and official controls of HONEY by applying sensory and laboratory techniques; basics of beekeeping.

XII. RISK ASSESSMENT AND FOOD SAFETY, reviewing the main microbiological, chemical, and toxicological hazards. Risk Assessment and Management of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, antimicrobial resistance and residues of veterinary medicinal products and contaminants in products of animal origin intended for human consumption.
 

PRACTICAL:

I. OFFICIAL CONTROLS performed by an official veterinarian to verify compliance with the requirements applicable to: i) the hygiene of meat; ii) the presence of residues of veterinary medicinal products and contaminants in products of animal origin intended for human consumption; iii) audits of good hygiene practices and procedures based on HACCP principles; iv) laboratory tests to verify compliance with the microbiological criterion; v) the handling and disposal of animal by-products; vi) the health and welfare of the animals.

II. Visit to a FOOD SERVICE UNIT, to observe the structural and functional requirements and the operation of their Food Safety Management System.

III. Visit to a POULTRY MEAT PROCESSING UNIT that integrates, in the same physical space, a SLAUGHTERHOUSE and a PORTIONING and DEBONING unit

IV. Practical formation on POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION of BROILER CHICKEN carcases and giblets.

V. Direct observation of the FISHERY PRODUCTS CIRCUIT, from the landing to the final selling to wholesalers and retailers. Fishing boats and fishing methods are also covered. Procedures for boxing, icing, transport and refrigeration and inspection are seen and discussed.

VI. Direct observation of the main FISH PROCESSING methods in Portugal. The quality lab is visited, and all procedures explained and shown, from can and seamer analysis to HACCP procedures and registrations.

VII. Observation of the EGGS' commercial circuit, starting at the recepcion (primary production) of eggs, followed by its inspetion, classification, packaging, and labelling.

(VII. Visit to a RABBIT slaughterhouse.)

XI. Presentation of honeycomb with HONEY and pollen. Observation of honeycomb breeding queens, worker bees and drones. Demonstration of the most common equipment used by beekeepers for handling of bees, honey extraction and packaging.

Mandatory literature

Gracey J. F.; Meat hygiene. ISBN: 0-7020-2258-6
Harrigan W. F.; Laboratory methods in food microbiology. ISBN: 0-12-326043-4
Ninios Thimjos 340; Meat inspection and control in the slaughterhouse. ISBN: 978-1-118-52586-9
Morris J. Glenn 340; Foodborne infections and intoxications. ISBN: 978-0-12-416041-5
Paulo Martins da Costa, João Marques e Fernando Bernanrdo; LAGOMORFOS, 2016
Paulo Martins da Costa e Fernando Bernanrdo; OVOS E OVOPRODUTOS, 2016
Paulo Martins da Costa; PERIGOS QUÍMICOS, 2016
Paulo Martins da Costa; GUIA PARA A REALIZAÇÃO DE UMA AUDITORIA, 2016

Complementary Bibliography

Undeland, I., Mackie, I. M., Henehan, G., Nielsen, J. & Nilsen, H.; Methods to evaluate fish freshness in research and industry, 1997
Chandan Ramesh C. 340; Dairy processing and quality assurance. ISBN: 978-1-118-81031-6
Charon Dewey M. 205; Honey bee biology and beekeeping. ISBN: 978-1-878075-29-1
Vaclavik Vickie A. 070; Essentials od food science. ISBN: 978-1-4614-9137-8
Martins da Costa et al.; Transfer of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Between Intermingled Ecological Niches: The Interface Between Humans, Animals and the Environment, 2012 (Review article)
Juan María Rossell; Enfermedades del Conejo, Ediciones Mundi-Prensa, 2000. ISBN: 84-7114-907-9
Anónimo; Norma do Mel, Codex Alimentarius , 1987
Huss, H. H. ; Garantia da Qualidade dos Produtos da Pesca. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 334, FAO, 1997
Thapon Jean-Louis 340; oeuf et les ovoproduits. ISBN: 2-85206-903-2
Boucher Samuel; Maladies des lapins. ISBN: 2-85557-027-1
Leyral, G., Vierling, E. ; Microbiologie et toxicologie des aliments, 1996
Herenda, D.C. ; Poultry Deseases and meat hygiene - A Color Atlas, Iwoa State University Press/AMES, 1996
Bremner, A. & Jonhston, M.; Poultry Meat Hygiene and Inspection, 1996
Paulo Martins da Costa, Ângelo Mendes e Fernando Bernanrdo; AVES DE CAPOEIRA, 2016

Comments from the literature

Bibliography: i) European and Portuguese legislation, ii) images, monographs and lecture notes prearranged by the teacher  and iii) complementary bibliography.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The scientific contents of Sanitary Inspection II are illustrated by images in slides, being complemented with:

I. Interaction with technical staff, entrepreneurs, specialists, producers, government officials and researchers.

II. Visits to industrial establishments:

1. poultry slaughtering center
2. meat cutting and packaging plant
3. commercial meat warehouse
4. egg inspection and grading center
5. collective catering establishment
6. honey processing plant
7. fish port (fish inspection)
8. fish canning factory

Access to most of these premises is done under collaboration agreements established between ICBAS and food operators. These agreements guaranteed a lasting partnership, cooperation in activities of mutual interest and privileged access for students.

In some practical classes, students can directly manipulate some carcases and simulate the execution of an audit, including the collection of foodstuffs, water and food contact surfaces samples for subsequent microbiological examination.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	50,00
Frequência das aulas	75,00
Trabalho de campo	10,00
Total:	135,00

Eligibility for exams

Curricular unit (UC) attendance will not be granted to students who have more than 3 (three) UNJUSTIFIED ABSENCES from practical classes.

Students involved in curricular enrichment activities (e.g. emergency services, Theriogenology outings, special necropsies) can justify their absences (see how in the practical lesson plan available in the UC documents).

Admission to study visits requires signing a Term of Responsibility, in which the student complies with the rules relating to food hygiene and conduct, in accordance with the specificities of the place to be visited.

All personal electronic equipment will not be allowed inside the establishment to be visited.

If equipment is borrowed from the institution, the student will be responsible for maintaining its proper use and returning it at the end of the visit.

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation is based on a final exam (Moodle platform) to evaluate the theoretical and practical knowledge. 

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to the legislation in force.

Classification improvement

Students who wish to improve the final classification will undergo a final examination at the time of application or at any other time in accordance with the legislation in force.

Observations

Main bibliography:
I. European and Portuguese legislation prearranged by the professor.
II. Figures, monographs and lecture notes prearranged by the professor.
III. Scientific papers prearranged by the professor.

Complementary bibliography:
In SIGARRA.