Food Systems and Management MSc

• Dr M. Carmen Alamar

This module aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of food diagnostic tools to monitor and analyse food quality and safety, as well as their impact on the management of the supply chain.

• Fundamentals of food analysis.
• Analytical methods; chemical, biological, physical and molecular techniques.
• Use of non-destructive techniques (viz. spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, electronic nose) to assess food composition (quality and safety aspects).
• Food adulteration and current techniques to identify fraud.
• Analytical identification of chemical components to evaluate food safety and quality.
• Bioinformatics approaches: Integration of datasets to predict food quality and safety.
• Design of appropriate diagnostic strategies to solve industrial challenges related to food composition and/or contaminants.
• Practical sessions (every afternoon): food quality and/or safety concepts will be explored through a hands-on/laboratory-based approach. Students will also be exposed to industry which will bring commercial solutions for them to assess.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Explain the principles and techniques currently available for food analysis, monitoring and assessment,
• Critically compare the different destructive and non-destructive techniques used to assess food quality parameters,
• Evaluate and discuss the selection of appropriate molecular techniques for the analysis of food components and food microbiological contaminants,
• Critically evaluate food industry supply chain scenarios and design a diagnostic strategy to overcome quality and safety issues’.

• Dr Carol Verheecke-Vaessen

This module will provide you with an overview of the main hazards encountered along the food chain and the food safety and quality regulatory framework. Special attention will be paid to microbiological hazards (bacteria, viruses and fungal pathogens) relevant to food.

The first part of the module aims to provide you with a thorough understanding of the ecology and physiology of bacteria, yeasts and moulds in key food chains and the methods for detecting and controlling spoilage, mycotoxin contamination, and the use of hurdle technology for improving shelf-life. The second part of the module will focus on the current food policy and legislation and the implementation of quality and safety standards in the food industry. This part contains examples of their application to industrially relevant cases.

The teaching will be supported by practical work that will complement the theory covered during the lectures. 

Introduction to food safety and the main hazard types able to enter different food chains,

Introduction and taxonomy of micro-organisms in food production and spoilage,

Food-borne pathogens and pathogenicity and natural toxins,

Fungal ecology: concepts, fungal contamination in different food chains (e.g., cereals, bakery, fresh produce, cured meats and beverages), heat resistant mould, mechanisms of survival and control,

Legislative drivers for mycotoxin control,

Hurdle technology: Use of ecophysiological knowledge to increase product shelf-life. Available food processing techniques,

Food legislation framework under which food production facilities and industries should work. Some important food chains will be used as examples.

The content will focus on:

ISO9000 (Food Quality),

ISO22000 (Food Safety),

ISO45000 (Health and Safety risk),

ISO14000 or EMA (Environment).

Specific Production areas:

Field Production (GAP, Red Tractor),

Food Industry (HACCP, Certification: BRC, IFS).

Practical's/case studies including key microbiological and chemical protocols and the associated calculation used. 

• Differentiate and explain the different Food Quality, Safety and related regulatory frameworks.
• Categorise the various groups of hazards in different food chains, and appraise their relative roles and importance.
• Identify the main bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins responsible for food related human disease and evaluate their impacts.
• Critically appraise and apply the HACCP methodology and understand its relationship with further certification.
• Demonstrate an independent critical ability to think systemically and conceptually by comparing and distinguishing among the different quality management approaches and diverse certification options.
• Design and develop the most appropriate option for specific production/processing sectors.
• Critically apply the approaches presented in the module to industrial situations.

• Dr Annette Yunus-Pendrey

Global sustainability challenges are shaping the way business operates in the 21st century. Businesses are under increasing pressure from multiple stakeholders (for e.g. shareholders, customers, employees, society) to manage their positive and negative impacts with clear responsibility and strategic intent.  Leading firms are choosing to respond to these challenges by generating sustainable value propositions to ultimately drive competitive advantage. For many this has meant re-engaging at the level of purpose and re-addressing their role in wider society and for human well-being.

This module outlines the major sustainability challenges and explores the capabilities organisations require to respond positively to them. It will engage you in gaining a better understanding of how corporate action can be best configured to promote responsible and sustainable business strategies. In doing so, it will demand management students (as future business managers and leaders) to reflect on the long-standing debate about whether or not ‘the business of business, is still business?

This module is 10 credits.

Watch video: An introduction to the Leading Corporate Sustainability module

The content is organised around the sustainability management ‘compass’ below:

The course content is structured as follows:



Part 1: Setting the context

Context setting

• Managing corporate sustainability
• Social and environmental trends

The role of business

• The role of business
• Challenges and opportunities for business

Exploring possible futures

• Playing an interactive future sustainable scenario board game
  



Part 2: Developing the capabilities

• Setting a purpose
• Formulating and implementing strategy
• Working with stakeholders
• Innovating
• Collaborating
• Valuing
• Leading

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

1. Identify global environmental and social trends and assess how these present both challenges and opportunities to business and analyse the capabilities businesses need to manage these.
2. Classify the potential stakeholder groups businesses can work with to develop and implement their sustainability strategies and evaluate collaborative approaches.
3. Assess the role of personal leadership in an organisation’s values, strategic direction and ability to execute its sustainability strategy.
4. Critically assess the content and reporting of businesses’ sustainability strategies.
5. Design and recommend a sustainability-oriented innovation for a selected business.

• Professor Andrew Thompson

To provide an understanding of how quality (e.g. colour, shape, aroma, taste, texture, nutrition) and value are evaluated in foods and beverages, and how this is influenced by genetic, environmental and management factors.

• Composition of products used in the food and drink industry,
• Primary metabolites in relation to food quality and diet: oils, carbohydrates and proteins,
• Secondary metabolites and bioactives in plant-based products: their importance in quality, value and human health,
• Mineral content of food: toxicity and human nutrition,
• The effect of environment, and crop and soil management, on the quality of plant-based products,
• The role of breeding and cultivar selection in improving quality traits,
• Survey and critical appraisal of relevant literature,
• Oral presentation practice.

On successful completion of this study you should be able to:

• Explain primary and secondary plant metabolism and comment on its importance in relation to food production,
• Relate biochemical properties of primary food sources to key attributes that are responsible for food quality and value, including environment, management and genetics,
• Evaluate how the processes of breeding and selection can lead to improved quality,
• Develop advanced research skills in literature survey, critical appraisal and oral presentation.

• Dr Natalia Falagan Sama

This module provides you with the principles behind the processes affecting the postharvest physiological and functional quality and to apply this knowledge in ‘real-world’ industrial strategies.

• Fundamentals of postharvest physiology; pre-harvest factors, biochemistry, ripening,
• Preservation methods; cool chain, packaging, ethylene, specialist treatments,
• Postharvest diseases; physiology, pathology, principles of disease control,
• Quality control; biochemical changes, assessment methods,
• Food waste management,
• Case studies.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically evaluate current postharvest technology and methodologies from real-world situations,
• Autonomously plan postharvest treatments and storage strategies in an industrial relevant scenario, identifying and mitigating sources of postharvest waste,
• Integrate the new technologies learnt in this module into the current supply chain.

• Dr Abhijeet Ghadge

During this module you will be introduced to key aspects of supply chain (SC) management which are critical to improving the overall resilience of the global food supply network.

• SC concepts and strategies,
• Sustainable and circular food SCs,
• SC risk identification and mitigation,
• Procurement strategy management,
• Quality management and Six Sigma,
• Technology applications for improving SC performance.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• To assess the impact of different supply chain strategies on the competitive strategy in the Food and Drinks industry.
• To analyse the interface with a firm’s suppliers to improve visibility and alignment across the supply chain.
• To design a successful collaborative initiative through the use of frameworks and tools from industry 4.0.
• To assess the challenges around managing sustainable food supply chains.
• To evaluate the risk inherent in the supply chain and mitigate them using resilient strategies.

• Dr Andrea Patriarca

This module will be delivered in collaboration with our industrial partners and Agrifood MSc alumni with successful careers in the industry. External speakers will deliver presentations to you with regard to their main challenges and innovation projects in different industrial sectors. The aim is to provide you with a direct contact with industrial challenges explained and solved by the industry themselves. Emphasis is also given to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the role of industry in achieving these.

This module explores current and future challenges that different sectors of the food chain are facing. The content will thus be flexible and 50% of content will depend on the different speakers. On the other hand, some common areas will be covered including:

• Intellectual property and food business,
• Potential career paths after finishing an MSc,
• Product development and process improvement,
• Innovation in the food industry,
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
• Pitching innovative business ideas.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically assess the main industrial challenges presented by the industrial speakers,
• Appraise the importance of Intellectual Property and its protection in a food production environment,
• Evaluate different industrial strategies in the context of the UN SDGs,
• Participate in the current discourse with regard to food production by arguing and criticising the different industrial situations presented during the module using the acquired knowledge systemically and conceptually,
• Develop a pitch for an innovative business idea.