Food is a vehicle for pathogens and toxins that cause food-borne illnesses and diseases. It is therefore very important that stakeholders perform their part to ensure safety of food. The quality of food must be protected right from the source and throughout its processing phases to the consumer, that is from “farm to fork”.
This course is designed for food regulators like environmental (EHO's) who are concerned with enforcing food hygiene standards and monitoring of HACCP practices. It is also for workers and supervisors in the food industry who are directly involved with preparation, cooking, processing, packaging, preserving and handling food.
They should be able to understand the definitions for Food Safety and Food Quality
It is important that all players in the food industry know the different types of micro-organisms which can be present in specific food and the conditions which are conducive to their growth and multiplication. They need to work towards ensuring that food establishments comply with standards under the respective legislations of their country and/or internationally accepted guidelines for safety of food. It is important that all players in the food industry know the important influence different types of micro-organisms can have on the quality of food.
The implementation of HACCP and the other pre-requisite programs are therefore crucial in the food industry. Students will be introduced the key concepts of HACCP and why the seven HACCP principles are developed the way they are. Other internationally recognized guidelines and standards such as ISO 22000 and Codex Alimentarius will also be introduced.
For practical sessions, students will be placed on compulsory attachment at several food production settings and encouraged to interact with workers and management to learn and observe HACCP implementation. This allows active interaction with workers and management. They will also need to learn about the importance of monitoring of HACCP that is done by the industry and the MOH Food Unit. The impact of climate change on food safety will be introduced also.