35530 - Animal Welfare and Production Quality

Learning outcomes

The course is aimed to make students able to:

1)      Assess the welfare level of farm animals;

2)      Recognize the relationships between animal welfare, rearing system and animal product quality.

3)      Perform an instrumental evaluation of some qualitative parameters of the main animal-derived products

Course contents

The concept of animal-derived food quality (consumer perspective, industrial perspective, ethic implications).

Animal welfare: concept, indicators and methods for its assessment (ANI and Welfare Quality score systems).

The role of animal welfare on product quality. 

The perception of animal welfare by consumers.

The quality of foods deriving from non-intensive farming systems: the example of the Organic Method (Reg. 834/2007)

The fundamentals of the quality assessment of milk and dairy products. Special attention is paid to the relationship between rearing systems and final animal-derived product quality.

Practical activity performed at the Faculty dairy farm and piggery aimed to assess the welfare level of the animals by means of validated score systems. Instrumental assessment of the quality of animal-derived foods.

Readings/Bibliography

1) Slides and notes available online in the teacher's web site

2) Further reading:

Alais C., Scienza del latte, Tecniche Nuove, Milano, 2000.

Cooper J., Niggli U. e Leifert C. (2007) Handbook of organic food safety and quality.Woodhead Publishing Limited, (UK)

Caccioni D. e Colombo L. 2012. Il Manuale del Biologico. Edagricole (BO)

Fraser A.F. e Broom D. 1997. Farm animals behaviour and welfare. CABI Publishing (UK).

Napolitano F., De Rosa G., Grasso F. 2007. Comportamento e benessere degli animali in produzione zootecnica. Aracne Editrice. Roma

Webster J. 2011. Management and welfare of farm animals (5th ed.) Wiley-Blackwell (UK)

Teaching methods

This course consists of formal lectures, supervised work mainly dealing with welfare assessment of dairy cows and/or pigs kept in the Department facilities.

Assessment methods

Written examination based  on multi-answers questions and open questions.  Upon request, students may have an "in itinere" test. The written test is  always followed by an oral discussion with the teacher. Booking for the examination can be esclusively done by means of Alma Esami web system. The examinations take place every month (indicatively).

Teaching tools

PC slides, internet, laboratories and in-farm activities.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanna Martelli