The course provides a multi-disciplinary approach to risk analysis in food safety. The risk analysis process consists of the elements: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. Risk perception, decision theory, economics and bioethics are also included. The aim is to introduce the students to the concept of risk analysis as applied in national and international food safety. The students will gain detailed insight in structured risk assessment and enable them to understand the use of risk assessment in risk management and the interaction between risk assessment and risk management including the importance of risk communication, cultural, ethical, and economic elements.
Læringsmål:
En studerende, der fuldt ud har opfyldt kursets mål, vil kunne:
• Construct risk pathways and to identify and organise the data required to develop a risk assessment model
• Participate actively in the assessment and management of foodborne hazards
• Interpret and discuss the results of risk assessments
• Communicate the results of a risk assessment, as well as the decisions taken on the basis of the assessment and other factors e.g. public risk perception and economic considerations
• React on present and emerging food-safety issues nationally and internationally
• Propose new or additional investigations or mitigation strategies in order to ensure an effective prevention and control
• Communicate specific food-safety issues to relevant stakeholders e.g. the consumers and the industry
• Gain insight in how risk managers (e.g. food safety authorities) base their decisions on risk assessments
• Understand the interaction between risk assessment, risk management and risk communication
• Understand the interplay between different stakeholders and decision makers regarding food safety
• Understand the ethical and economic elements of food safety management
Kursusindhold:
The course provides a multi-disciplinary approach to risk analysis in food safety, which is widely recognised as the fundamental methodology that should support the development of food safety standards. It is a structured, systematic process that examines the potential adverse health effects consequential to a hazard or condition of a food and develops options for mitigating that risk. Risk assessment cases from microbial and chemical food safety will be the main focus, but risk management and decision making, risk communication, risk perception and acceptability among different stakeholders, and cost/benefit analyses will also be presented and discussed. The students will select a case (e.g. Listeria in smoked salmon or lead in fish) on which they will perform a (simple) risk assessment model and identify the required data. On the basis of the risk assessment, they will be asked to provide proposals for prevention and control strategies including the discussion of other factors that need to be considered such as public risk perception, ethical and economical issues. Finally, methods for communicating the results and consequences will be discussed.
