Food Safety and Quality (FOOD90008)

The food we eat provides our bodies with the nutrients to live, grow and function properly. High quality food contains attributes that are acceptable to consumers. The demand for safe and high-quality foods is rapidly increasing as low quality and unsafe food containing harmful microorganisms, physical constituents and chemical substances, affects the health and well-being of humans. In order to provide safe and quality food, it is necessary to maintain manufacturing and processing standards. 

This subject will provide students with an advanced understanding of scientific principles and concepts related to safety and quality standards of food products. Since the importance of quality assurance in producing safe and quality foods in terms of both Australian and international food standards codes are emphasized, the subject will include topics such as: Quality management and international and national quality management standards; What are customers’ expectations of food?; Probability and sampling; Statistical process control; Microbial factors in food quality; Risk analysis and management; Quantitative risk assessment; Regulatory requirements The Food Safety Code, Codex Alimentarius; Global food safety initiative and industry schemes; Performance measures and benchmarking; Role of internal and external auditing; Food safety management systems; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and food safety risks; Quality auditing and improvement; Costs of quality failures; Food allergen management; Maintaining food quality & safety in the production chain; Safety and quality of plant foods, dairy, meat, seafood and GM foods; Australia’s native foods: quality & safety.