| CODE | FSN2005 | ||||||
| TITLE | Food Information to Consumers | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Food Sciences and Nutrition | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit will introduce the students to various fundamental aspects of food information. It will deal with the concepts of food fraud, food choice and functional foods. The study-unit will also address principles of allergen management. The main elements of food labelling will be considered, including generic requirements such as nutritional and health claims, GM foods and also sector-specific regulations. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit was designed primarily to enable students to evaluate key issues relating to food information, food fraud, food choice, and allergen management. It aims to provide an understanding of socio-economic factors influencing food choice, to allow students to gain an insight into the political and societal factors affecting food fraud and to address aspects of food labelling with emphasis on health and nutrition controls. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe legal requirements governing food information in general foodstuffs and also in specific foods; - Describe the usefulness and limitations of food labelling, with reference to allergen labelling; - Have an insight into food fraud; - Explain the concepts and approaches associated with the development of functional foods; and - List and describe the factors that influence food choice and behaviour. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Create a label in line with regulations for a new or existing product; - Identify which legal requirements are applicable to variety of foodstuffs; - Lay down a proper nutritional information table; - Identify non-compliances in existing labels; and - Review food labels. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - REGULATION (EU) No 1169/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 available online at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32011R1169&from=EN - REGULATION (EU) No 609/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 12 June 2013 on food intended for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control and repealing Council Directive 92/52/EEC, Commission Directives 96/8/EC, 1999/21/EC, 2006/125/EC and 2006/141/EC, Directive 2009/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 41/2009 and (EC) No 953/2009 available online at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R0609&from=EN - COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2016/127 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for infant formula and follow-on formula and as regards requirements on information relating to infant and young child feeding available online at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0127&from=EN - COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2016/128 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for food for special medical purposes available online at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0128&from=EN - COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 96/8 /EC of 26 February 1996 on foods intended for use in energy-restricted diets for weight reduction available online at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31996L0008&from=EN - REGULATION (EC) No 1924/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods available online at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006R1924&from=en Supplementary Readings: - Food information to consumers – legislation, EU Commission available online at https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/labelling_nutrition/labelling_legislation_en - Guidance September 2013 Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers by EU Commerce and Food Drink Europe, available online at https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/FDE_Guidance_WEB.pdf - Guidance Document For Competent Authorities For The Control Of Compliance With Eu Legislation On: with regard to the setting of tolerances for nutrient values declared on a label by EU Commission 2012, available online at https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/safety/docs/labelling_nutrition-supplements-guidance_tolerances_1212_en.pdf - Technical guidance on nutrition labeling by Department of Health UK, 2016 available online at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/595961/Nutrition_Technical_Guidance.pdf - Changing EU Legislation On Foods For Particular Nutritional Uses by Sarah Burke, Kerry Health and Nutrition Institute available online at https://khni.kerry.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/10994-KHNI_WP_Changing-EU-Legislation-on-Foods-for-particular-nutritional-uses_FINAL.pdf - Foods for specific groups, EU Commission available online at https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/labelling_nutrition/special_groups_food_en These are subject to change due to any legal amendments. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study & Tutorial | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | John Attard Kingswell Sandro Sammut |
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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. |
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