1. Handbook
  2. Subjects
  3. Food Safety and Quality
  4. Print

Food Safety and Quality (FOOD90008)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online

You’re viewing the 2024 Handbook:
Or view archived Handbooks

Overview

Availability
Semester 2 - Online
FeesLook up fees

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.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of the subject students should be able to:

  • Analyse data and apply quality management tools
  • Understand and analyse the Australian and international regulatory environment relating to the food chain
  • Analyse and identify potential risks in the food chain
  • Apply HACCP principles in a food safety plan
  • Evaluate important quality control concepts and skills.

Generic skills

On completion of this subject, students should have developed the following generic skills:

  • Academic excellence
  • Greater in-depth understanding of scientific disciplines used in industry
  • The study will develop critical thinking and analysis and problem solving
  • Flexibility and level of transferable skills should be enhanced though improved ability to communicate ideas effectively in both written and verbal formats

Last updated: 31 January 2024

Eligibility and requirements

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Non-allowed subjects

None

Recommended background knowledge

It is recommended that students have studied one of the following level 9 statistics subjects, or equivalent:

Code Name Teaching period Credit Points
NRMT90003 Social Research Methods
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
AGRI90075 Research Methods For Life Sciences
Semester 1 (Online)
 12.5

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.

Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Last updated: 31 January 2024

Assessment

DescriptionTimingPercentage

Assignment due in approximately Week 5

  • 1000 words
Week 520%

Online test

  • 1 hours
Week 830%

Food safety plan draft

  • 1000 words
Week 1015%

Examination (open book)

  • 2 hours
During the examination period35%

Last updated: 31 January 2024

Dates & times

  • Semester 2 - Online
    Principal coordinatorSenaka Ranadheera
    Mode of deliveryOnline
    Contact hoursApproximately 4 hours of concept overview, short video/s, directed worksheet, synchronous lectures and webinar discussions per week
    Total time commitment170 hours
    Teaching period22 July 2024 to 20 October 2024
    Last self-enrol date 2 August 2024
    Census date 2 September 2024
    Last date to withdraw without fail20 September 2024
    Assessment period ends15 November 2024

    Semester 2 contact information

    Senaka.ranadheera@unimelb.edu.au

What do these dates mean

Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:

  • Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
  • And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
    - Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).

    Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.

Last updated: 31 January 2024

Further information

  • Texts

    Prescribed texts

    There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.

  • Related Handbook entries

    This subject contributes to the following:

    TypeName
    CourseGraduate Certificate in Food Science
    CourseMaster of Biotechnology
    CourseGraduate Diploma in Food Science
    CourseMaster of Food Science
    CourseMaster of Food and Packaging Innovation
  • Available through the Community Access Program

    About the Community Access Program (CAP)

    This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.

    Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.

  • Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students

    This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.

Last updated: 31 January 2024