Professional Master of Science in Food Safety Degree Program

About Us

Event Calendar

Sample Syllabus:

VM/CJ 821 Food Protection and Defense

(3 Credits)

Kristie A. Denbrock, MPA

Consortium Coordinator

Michigan State University

Faculty:

Phillip D. Schertzing, Ph.D., Director, Global Community Security Institute, School of Criminal Justice, MSU

David J. Closs, Ph.D., The John H. McConnell Chaired Professor, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, MSU

Dan Grooms, DVM, Ph.D., Large Animal Clinic Science, MSU

John Spink, BS/MS, Director, Packaging for Food and Protection (P-FAPP) Initiative, NFSTC, MSU

Shaun Kennedy, Associate Director, Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, University of Minnesota and National Center for Food Protection and Defense

Jeff Elsworth, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, The School of Hospitality Business, MSU

William C. Schwartz, Ph.D., Chief Food Safety Officer, Director Quality Assurance

Orval Kent Food Company, Inc., Wheeling, IL

Gordon Meriwether, MBA, PMP, Principal, The Uriah Group, Fall Church, VA

Paul Bartlett, PhD, DVM, MPH, Professor, NFSTC, MSU

Required Textbook: Provided online through ANGEL venue – www.angel.msu.edu

Course Description:

This multi-university, multi-faculty developed course in Food Protection and Defense is offered jointly by The School of Criminal Justice and Michigan State University. Protecting and defending our nation’s food supply requires an understanding of emergency management and critical incident protocol related to food systems.

Delivered entirely online in asynchronous format using MSU’s established ANGEL course management system, the course may be taken at your workplace or home institution with no requirements to attend any classes or meetings on campus.

Unique focus areas include:

Fundamentals of Homeland Security
Public-private partnerships for emergency preparedness
Supply chain, production and processing security
Packaging and transportation security
Evaluating food security programs
Restaurant and grocery store critical incident protocols
Economic recovery.

This course is team taught that leverages the expertise of faculty and industry leaders from around the United States to contain content that includes the most up-to-date issues, sources, perspectives and scholarship on Food Protection and Homeland Security in the emerging and constantly evolving subject of inquiry.

Course Goals and Objectives:

Students will explore and gain insight into intentional food system (farm-to-fork) contamination, including protecting and defending the food supply, understanding emergency management, hazard risk analysis, and prevention program.

The course will provide participants with an enhanced understanding of a board range of intentional food threats increasing their ability to assess a company’s/agency’s risk and optimal actions. Students will become aware of the controversy related to critical food science issues, be able to analyze a particular food science issue, and learn about the role of scientific evidence related to those issues.

Participants will develop the thought processes necessary for a food professional to design an evaluation tool to demonstrate the effectiveness and reduce the risk associated with intentional food product contamination.

Course Activities and Grading:

After each session, there will be a short assessment project that will be graded. Each project will be worth 10 points. Projects may range from a short research project to a quiz. The final project will be worth 30 points. Finally, up to 10 points will be awarded for participation and discussion. Total points - 150.

Final grade ranges are as follows:

92 - 100%= 4.0
86 – 91 = 3.5
80 – 85 = 3.0
75 – 79 = 2.5
70 – 74 = 2.0
65 – 69 = 1.5
60 – 64 = 1.0
00 – 59 = 0.0

Academic Honesty:

Students are expected always to submit work that represents their original thoughts and ideas with proper attribution or citation for all other sources. Please see http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/plagiarism.html

Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater ones. ~ Chinese Proverb

Course Curriculum and Schedule:

Module Title Leader

Module #1 Course Overview and Orientation to Angel Denbrock

(Aug. 27 – Sept. 2)

Module #2 Fundamentals of Homeland Security Schertzing

(Sept. 3 – 9)

(Sept. 10 – 16)

Module #3 Public/Private Partnerships/Emergency Schertzing

(Sept. 17 – 23) Preparedness/Critical Incident

(Sept. 24 – Sept. 30)

Module #4 Supply Chain Security Closs

(Oct. 1 - 7)

Module #5 Production/On Farm Security Grooms

(Oct. 8 - 14)

Module #6 Packaging/Transportation Security Spink

(Oct. 15 - 21)

Module #7 Processing/Manufacturing Defense Kennedy

(Oct. 22 - 28)

Module #8 Grocery Tabletop Exercise Denbrock

(Oct. 29 – Nov. 4)

Module #9 Food Services/Hospitality Elsworth

(Nov. 5 - 11)

Module #10 Evaluating Food Security Programs Schwartz

(Nov. 12 - 18)

Module #11* Recovery Meriwether

(Nov. 19 – 25)

Module #12 Public Health Response to Bartlett

(Nov. 26 – Dec. 2) Foodborne Outbreaks

(Dec. 3 - 9) Final Exam Paper

Grades Due

(Dec. 10 - 16)

*Thanksgiving Holiday – University closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22 and 23