مخطط الموضوع

  • Food Hygiene and Safety

                                                            chat

  • Target audience


                                         public

                                "This course is primarily intended for 3rd-year Bachelor's students specializing in Food Quality and Safety."

    • Information sheet

       time                                            

      Course Information:

      • Institution: Abdelhafid BOUSSOUF University – Mila
      • Faculty: Natural and Life Sciences
      • Department: Biotechnology
      • Bachelor's Degree Title: Food Quality and Safety
      • Semester: S6
      • Subject Title: Food Hygiene and Safety
      • Credits: 2
      • Coefficient: 2
      • Duration: 13 weeks
      • Lecture Schedule: Wednesday: 12:30 - 14:00  (Room 7- Block 4)
      • Tutorial Schedule: Sunday: 9:30 - 11:00  (Room 4 - Block 4)

      enseignante

      Lecturer:

      • Dr. BOUNAB Nourhane Amani
      • e-mail : n.nourhane@centre-univ-mila.dz

      • Course Introduction

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   food safety

        Food hygiene and food safety are fundamental concepts that ensure the safety and quality of the food we consume. They involve proper food handling, preparation, and preservation practices to prevent foodborne illnesses. All stakeholders in the food chain — including producers, processors, distributors, retailers, caterers, and consumers — share the responsibility of ensuring that food products are safe and free from contamination. Good food hygiene practices include the use of appropriate cleaning and sanitation procedures, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE). Food hygiene is essential not only to protect consumers but also to ensure legal compliance, improve professional practices, and preserve food quality.

      • Course objectives

                                                      goal

        This course — offered as part of the Discovery Teaching Unit — aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of food hygiene and safety from both a technical and regulatory perspective. Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

        1. Differentiate between food hygiene, food safety, and food health safety.
        2. Identify key tools for food quality and safety management (HACCP, ISO systems, good practice guides, private standards).
        3. Understand the mechanisms of Algerian, European, and Codex Alimentarius food legislation.
        4. Apply fundamental principles of food law and professional ethics in their future careers.

        • Prerequisites

                                                                             knowledge

          Recommended Prior Knowledge

          • Students are expected to apply their knowledge professionally to their work or future career. They should demonstrate skills typically acquired through developing and defending arguments, and through solving problems within their field of study.                  
          • Students must be able to gather and interpret relevant data — generally within their area of study — in order to form judgments that reflect on relevant social, scientific, or ethical issues.


          • Content

                        contenu

            The course is structured into three chapters, each taught through pedagogical sequences that promote concept assimilation, further reinforced by learning activities. Below is the course outline:

            Chapter N°01: Hygiene and contamination control in the food industry (types of contaminants, detergents, disinfectants, cleaning techniques).

            Chapter N°02: Fundamentals of food safety and quality management (key organizations such as FAO, WHO, EFSA, Codex Alimentarius; HACCP; ISO; good practices).

            Chapter N°03: National and international hygiene regulations (food law, regulatory systems, national legislation, ethics).

            • Questions

              Kindly submit your questions in this area.

            • Chapter N°1: Hygiene and contamination control

              Food safety in the agri-food industry begins with a fundamental pillar: mastering hygiene. Any failure in hygiene practices can lead to contamination events with severe consequences for public health, as well as irreversible damage to a company's reputation and market access. This chapter provides students with essential knowledge to understand the full spectrum of biological, chemical, and physical contaminants that can affect food products. It also covers the chemistry and proper application of detergents and disinfectants, as well as the systematic cleaning and disinfection techniques required to guarantee the safety and wholesomeness of finished products. The rigorous application of these principles is indispensable and serves as a prerequisite for any quality management system, most notably the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) methodology.

              Specific Objectives of the Chapter

              Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:

              1. Distinguish between the three main categories of food contaminants (biological, chemical, and physical) and identify specific hazards associated with each.

              2. Explain the FAT TOM factors that influence microbial growth and describe the particular challenge posed by biofilms in food processing environments.

              3. Differentiate between cleaning and disinfection, and justify why effective disinfection can only occur on a pre-cleaned surface.

              4. Apply the Sinner's Circle (TACT) model to optimize cleaning parameters (Temperature, Action, Concentration, Time).

              5. Select appropriate detergents based on soil type (alkaline, acidic, or neutral) and explain the role of surfactants and sequestrants.

              6. Compare the mechanisms, antimicrobial spectra, advantages, and limitations of major disinfectants (chlorine compounds, QACs, peroxygens, alcohols).

              7. Understand the importance of disinfectant rotation to prevent microbial resistance.

              8. Describe the standard 6-step cleaning and disinfection protocol and explain the purpose of each step.

              9. Distinguish between different operational methods (manual cleaning, foam/gel application, Cleaning In Place – CIP, and Cleaning Out of Place – COP) and identify appropriate applications for each.

              10. Evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection using various verification methods (visual inspection, pH/conductivity, ATP bioluminescence, and microbiological surface testing).


            • Chapter N°2: Fundamentals of food safety and quality management

              This chapter addresses the overarching architecture of governance, standards, and management systems that transform individual good practices into a coherent, verifiable, and continuously improving food safety culture.

              We will examine the international bodies that set the global rules, including the Codex Alimentarius, FAO, WHO, and EFSA, and understand the critical separation between scientific risk assessment and political risk management. The chapter then explores the foundational principles of quality systems, with a detailed focus on the HACCP methodology, ISO standards (ISO 9001 and ISO 22000), Good Practice Guides, and private certification schemes such as FSSC 22000. Additionally, we will cover the essential reactive mechanisms of traceability, product withdrawal, and product recall, which become critical when preventative systems fail. Finally, the chapter introduces Garvin's eight dimensions of quality as a strategic framework for understanding what quality truly means in a competitive food market.

              By bridging the gap between tactical hygiene practices and strategic quality management, this chapter provides students with the full toolkit required to design, implement, and maintain a robust food safety and quality system.

              Specific Objectives of the Chapter

              Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:

              1. Describe the global institutional framework for food safety, including the respective roles of Codex Alimentarius, FAO, WHO, and the WTO SPS Agreement.

              2. Explain the risk analysis model as institutionalized by EU Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002, distinguishing clearly between risk assessment (EFSA), risk management (European Commission, Parliament, Council), and risk communication.

              3. Identify the three permanent joint expert committees (JECFA, JMPR, JEMRA) and explain their role in providing the scientific basis for international food safety standards.

              4. Define a quality system and justify why it is a strategic asset rather than a bureaucratic cost.

              5. Apply the 12 steps and 7 principles of the HACCP methodology to a food production process, including conducting a hazard analysis and determining Critical Control Points (CCPs).

              6. Differentiate between ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System), and explain the role of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle in both standards.

              7. Distinguish between Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs), and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) as prerequisite programs (PRPs).

              8. Compare private certification schemes, particularly FSSC 22000, and explain the commercial importance of GFSI benchmarking and unannounced audits.

              9. Apply the one-step-back/one-step-forward traceability principle as mandated by EU law, and differentiate between product withdrawal and product recall, including the classification of recall classes.

              10. Describe the operational mandates for an effective recall, including regulatory notification, consumer communication, root cause analysis, and mock recall testing.

              11. Analyze a food product using Garvin's eight dimensions of quality (performance, features, conformance, reliability, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, and perceived quality).

              12. Explain how HACCP and FSSC 22000 primarily deliver on conformance and reliability, while other dimensions of quality depend on R&D, customer service, and marketing functions.


            • Chapter N°3: National and international hygiene regulations

              Food safety cannot rely solely on technical knowledge of contaminants, cleaning protocols, or quality management systems. These practices derive their legal authority, enforceability, and legitimacy from a complex and multi-layered regulatory framework that governs the entire food chain. This chapter provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the legal and regulatory environment that shapes food safety practices at the international, regional, and national levels.

              We begin by examining fundamental definitions and principles, including the farm-to-fork approach, the precautionary principle, and traceability. The chapter then explores the hierarchy of norms in food law, moving from international instruments (WTO SPS Agreement, Codex Alimentarius) to regional frameworks (the European Hygiene Package) and finally to national legislation, with a special focus on Algerian law. Key legal texts, including Law n° 09-03 on consumer protection and the Interministerial Order of October 27, 2011 (which makes HACCP mandatory), are analyzed in detail. A comparative table highlights the similarities and differences between the Algerian, European, and American regulatory systems.

              The chapter concludes with an essential section on deontology (professional ethics) in food safety. Students will learn about the ethical obligations of food professionals, including duties of competence, independence, transparency, and reporting. The section also covers food fraud, ethical risk communication, professional codes of conduct for auditors and experts, legal responsibilities, and the growing importance of whistleblower protection.

              By the end of this chapter, students will understand that compliance with food safety regulations is not merely a legal constraint but an ethical commitment to protecting public health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

              Specific Objectives of the Chapter

              Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:

              1. Define food safety, food hygiene, and the three fundamental principles (farm to fork, precautionary principle, traceability).

              2. Classify the five categories of food hazards (biological, chemical, physical, allergens, radiological).

              3. Identify the competent authorities in Algeria responsible for food safety control.

              4. Explain the role of Codex Alimentarius and the WTO SPS Agreement as international references.

              5. Describe the key Algerian legal texts, including the mandatory HACCP requirement (Interministerial Order of October 27, 2011).

              6. Apply the 7 HACCP principles and traceability obligations (one-step-back/one-step-forward).

              7. Compare the regulatory systems of Algeria, the European Union, and the United States.

              8. List the five deontological duties of food professionals and the six main types of food fraud.

              9. Apply the principles of ethical risk communication in a food safety crisis.

              10. Distinguish between the types of legal responsibility and explain whistleblower protection.


            • Tutorials