Professional Master of Science in Food Safety Degree Program

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Sample Syllabus:

VM 817 – Issues in PreHarvest Food Safety

(3 Credits)

Daniel Grooms, DVM, PhD

Associate Professor

Large Animal Clinical Sciences

Michigan State University

Suggested Text: Microbial Food Safety in Animal Agriculture
Mary E. Torrence and Richard E. Isaacson
Blackwell Publishing

Preharvest and Postharvest Food Safety. Contemporary Issues and Future Directions
Ross C. Beier, Suresh D. Pillai, Timothy D. Phillips, Richard L. Ziprin
Blackwell Publishing

Course Description: The goal of this course is to provide an overview of various preharvest food safety issues and some of the tools and strategies being used for improving food safety at the pre-harvest level. This course will include an overview of multiple topics and species, with an emphasis on the microbial, chemical, and toxic hazards of food that may be present at the pre-harvest level

This course is team taught by university faculty and industry leaders from around the United States.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of the course, participants should:

1. Be aware of a broad scope of food safety hazards that may be present in food prior to harvest

2. Understand the ecology of specific food safety hazards at the pre-harvest level and how this knowledge might be used to develop a pre-harvest hazard reduction strategy

3. Be aware of programs currently in place to mitigate food safety hazards at the pre-harvest level

4. With knowledge of a food safety hazard and its ecology, design intervention strategies at the pre-harvest level

Grading Policy: After each module, there will be a short assessment project that will be graded. Each project will worth 10 points. Projects may range from a short research project to a quiz. A final project will be worth 20 points. Finally, up to 10 points will be awarded for participation in discussion.

Grading will be based on the following scale

A 125-150
B 100-124
C 75-99
D 50-74

Academic Integrity: Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. Chinese Proverb

WEEK # (DATES) MODULE # TITLE LEADER

Week 1(Jan 9-Jan 13): Module 1 - Introduction:

D. Grooms

Week 2-3 (Jan 16-Jan 27): Module 2 - Quality and Safety Assurance Programs

D. Grooms Sheep quality assurance

Beef quality assurance Swine quality assurance

Week 4 (Jan 30-Feb3): Module 3 - Pre-harvest HACCP

W. Osburn

Week 5 (Feb 6-Feb10): Module 4 – Pre-harvest food safety in the poultry industry

T. Morishita

Week 6-7 (Feb 13-Feb 24): Module 5 - Food Animal Pre-harvest Issues

P. Coe Safety of issues of growth promotion

L. Judge rBST

J. Averill Prudent anti-microbial usage

Week 8 (Feb 27-Mar 3): Module 6 - E. coli O157:H7 Case Study

D. Smith

SPRING BREAK March 6-10

Week 9 (Mar 13-Mar 17): Module 7 - Legal Issues of PreHarvest Food Safety K. Dahl

Week 10 (Mar 20-Mar 24): Module 8 – Salmonella Control Program in Denmark P. Bartlett

Week 11 (Mar27-Mar 31): Module 9 – PreHarvest Food Safety in Aquatic Species G. Bledsoe

Week 12 (Apr 3-Apr 7): Module 10 - Organic Fruits, Vegetables and Grains P. McNeil

Week 13 (Apr 10-Apr14): Module 11 – Case Study: Dairy Farm PHFS D. Grooms

Week 14-15 (Apr 17-Apr 28) Module 12 - PreHarvest Safety in Fruits and Vegetables L. Bourquin

Week 16 (May 1-May 5): Finals Week - Final Project