| CODE | FEH1101 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Food Fraud and Quality Assurance | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Food Sciences and Nutrition | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit is designed to give the students an appreciation for the principles of fraud and quality assurance as applicable to the food supply chain. Food fraud is gaining interest as an emerging risk in the global and complex nature of food supply chains. Quality Assurance is associated to food fraud as there is a real challenge to detect food fraud which consumers do not often notice as a quality problem. There may be instances where additives or contaminants are not typically found in food products. Since most of the adulterants can go unnoticed, there might be a mixed outcome on health related issues. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to: - Identify instances of food fraud; - Identify the main types of food fraud (including sale of food unfit and potentially harmful to human health; deliberate erroneous description of food; sale of stolen or illegally processed foods); - Introduce principles of quality assurance; - Discuss complexity of food chains. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discuss the potential for food fraud in common food stuffs; - Understand the impact that food fraud has on consumers purchasing behaviour; - Identify means for dealing with food fraud and the use of accredited food auditing; - Appreciate local and European efforts available to curtail food fraud and promote quality assurance. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the most common counterfeit foods; - Investigate the deliberate mis-description of food, such as products substituted with a cheaper alternative; - Implement adequate auditing techniques to identify counterfeit food; - Inform and advise consumers about possible food frauds applying current legislation. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Bee Wilson, (2008), Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned Candy to Counterfeit Coffee, Princeton University Press,USA. - Monte Wolverton (2014) Chasing 120: A Story of Food, Faith, Fraud and the Pursuit of Longevity, Plain Truth Ministries, Pasadena , USA. - Tom Mueller, (2012), Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, W.W. Norton & Co. Ltd, New York. USA. - Peter Laufer, (2014) ,Organic: A Journalist's Quest to Discover the Truth behind Food Labeling, Globe Pequot Press, USA. - Geoff Tansey & Anthony Worsley, (2008), The Food System, Earth Scan, USA. |
||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Group Learning | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | |||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||