FQD-20306 Food Quality Management

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Contents:

Management of food quality in the agri-food chain is rather challenging because it deals with as well complex food production systems as dynamic food organizations operating in a vigorous environment. Integration of knowledge from natural and social sciences is therefore crucial in this area. The course is an introduction into the technological and managerial principles and practices in food quality management.
The techno-managerial approach will be introduced as a way to analyse complex food quality management issues. The major theoretical topics include.
- food products, food quality, and quality attributes;
- factors influencing quality attributes in the agri-food chain;
- quality management and organisation, history of quality management;
- technological and managerial concepts, methods, tools, practices in quality design, quality control, quality improvement, and quality assurance;
- quality assurance guidelines and standards; GMP,PRP, HACCP,ISO9001,ISO22000,BRC
- quality policy and strategy, Total Quality Management;
- evaluation quality management, quality costs and auditing.
In addition various types of food quality management issues will be provided to exercise with analysing problems from practice from a techno-managerial perspective.

Learning outcomes:

At the end of this course, students are expected to be able to:
- explain in detail different food quality concepts;
- explain the major quality management principles;
- know the major technological quality influencing factors and their consequences for product quality;
- know the quality management functions and their relationship with quality performance and recognise the impact of human behaviour;
- understand principles and recognise restrictions of different quality standards and guidelines;
- describe and analyse different quality management strategies;
- use basic knowledge about the technological and managerial principles and practices in food quality management to analyse problems from a techno-managerial perspective.

Activities:

- following lectures, reading book chapters as preparation for lectures;
- analyses of various food quality management problems (cases) from a techno-managerial perspective (blackboard);
- active participation in plenary discussions about cases;
- exercises at blackboard (quiz type questions).

Examination:

Written exam including kwowledge questions and a case.

Literature:

Book: Luning, P.A. and Marcelis, W.J. (2009). Food Quality Management, technological and managerial principles and practices. Wageningen Academic Publishers.