00529 - Inspection of Products of Animal Origin

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Evaluate the hygienic-sanitary safety and regulatory compliance of foods of animal origin through the application of official control criteria and food safety principles.
2. Assess the main production, transformation, preservation, and storage processes applied to foods of animal origin, identifying potential biological, chemical, and physical hazards.
3. Apply European Union and national legislation concerning foods of animal origin, official controls, traceability, and food business operator responsibilities.
4. Identify critical control points and preventive measures within the food chain according to HACCP principles and the farm-to-fork approach.
5. Interpret inspection findings and formulate technical judgements regarding the suitability, safety, and quality of foods of animal origin.

6. Communicate inspection findings and technical evaluations using appropriate scientific and regulatory terminology.

Course contents

Course Information

Course title: Inspection of Foods of Animal Origin

Degree programme: Environment and Workplace Prevention Techniques (TPALL)

Integrated course: Prevention Sciences applied to Food Safety

Year: Third Year

Teaching format: Frontal lectures

Total hours: 36 hours

Teaching organisation: 9 sessions of 4 hours each

Course leader: Prof. Alessandro Seguino

 

Course Description
The course addresses the scientific, regulatory, hygienic, environmental, and public health aspects related to the production and official control of foods of animal origin.

Particular emphasis is placed on the role of the health inspector in protecting consumer health through a One Health and farm-to-fork
approach.

The course examines the principal stages of the food chain for foods of animal origin, including red meat, poultry, eggs, fishery products, wild game, milk, and dairy products.

Topics include animal welfare, slaughter hygiene, post-mortem inspection, food preservation, traceability, food fraud,
environmental sustainability, and integrated risk prevention.

The course also provides students with the knowledge necessary to be familiar with the organisation of official controls in the European Union and Italy, the principles of hygienic production, and the criteria used to assess the suitability of foods of animal origin for human consumption.

 

Course Contents
Module 1 — Global Food Safety Challenges and Official Controls (4 hours)
Global food safety challenges (2 hours)
 One Health approach and public health protection
 Globalisation of the food chain
 Emerging issues in foods of animal origin
 Environmental sustainability and food safety
 Role of the health inspector in food safety prevention
Organisation of official controls in the EU and Italy (2 hours)
 Principles of official controls on foods of animal origin
 Competent authorities and inspection systems
 Risk-based official controls
 Role of the TPALL professional in food inspection activities
 Overview of the main European and Italian legislation
Module 2 — Red Meat Supply Chain: Part I (4 hours)
 Animal identification and food chain information
 Animal welfare during transport
 Ante-mortem inspection
 Slaughter hygiene
 Animal welfare at slaughter
Module 3 — Red Meat Supply Chain: Part II (4 hours)
 Post-mortem inspection
 Judgement of fitness for human consumption
 Carcass classification
 Muscle-to-meat transformation
 Refrigeration and storage
 Cutting plant operations and hygiene requirements
Module 4 — Poultry, Eggs and Egg Products (4 hours)
 Poultry production systems
 Poultry slaughter hygiene
 Animal welfare during poultry slaughter
 Inspection of poultry meat
 Eggs and egg products
 Hygiene and food safety requirements
Module 5 — Fishery Products and Wild Game Meat (4 hours)
Fishery products (2 hours)
 Fishery product hygiene
 Freshness assessment and quality indicators
 Parasitic hazards (including Anisakis)
 Storage and preservation requirements
Wild game meat (2 hours)
 Wild game supply chain
 Inspection and hygienic risks
 Public health considerations related to game meat
Module 6 — Milk, Dairy Products and Food Preservation: Part I (4 hours)
Milk and dairy products (2 hours)
 Raw milk hygiene
 Dairy processing
 Official controls in milk and dairy production
 Food safety aspects of dairy products
Principles of food preservation for foods of animal origin (2 hours)
 Refrigeration and freezing
 Heat treatments
 Packaging systems
 Shelf-life principles
Module 7 — Food Preservation: Part II and National Residue Control Plans (4 hours)
Advanced preservation systems and shelf-life management (2 hours)
 Modified atmosphere packaging
 Drying and salting
 Factors influencing microbial growth and product stability
National residue control plans and chemical hazards (2 hours)
 National Surveillance Scheme on residues in Italy
 Veterinary medicinal products and residues
 Environmental contaminants
 Public health implications of chemical hazards
Module 8 — Food Traceability, Labelling, Food Fraud and Food Crime (4 hours)
 Traceability systems in foods of animal origin
 Labelling requirements
 Origin labelling and product authenticity
 Food fraud and economically motivated adulteration
 Food crime and public health implications
 Food recalls and crisis management
Module 9 — Environmental Sustainability, Integrated Prevention Strategies and Mock Examination (4 hours)
Environmental sustainability and integrated prevention strategies (2 hours)
 Environmental aspects of foods of animal origin production
 Waste management in food-producing establishments
 Integrated prevention strategies for public health protection
Mock examination and case discussion (2 hours)
 Multi Choice Questions
 Interpretation of inspection findings

 

Professional Relevance
The course contributes to the development of professional competencies required for the prevention and control activities carried out by TPALL professionals within:
 public health services,
 food inspection systems,
 offiicial control authorities,
 food production establishments,
 integrated prevention programmes.

Readings/Bibliography

• Material provided by the teacher (slides of the lectures in PDF format) and available from the dedicated Teaching Resources website on Virtuale.
• Book: Manuale di ispezione e controllo delle carni. Autori: Stella - Scanziani - Ghisleni (2023).
• Book: Igiene e tecnologie degli alimenti di origine animale. Autori: a cura di Giampaolo Colavita (2023).
• European legislation https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?lang=en

Teaching methods

The course consists of frontal lectures supported by:
 case studies,
 practical examples,
 discussion of inspection scenarios,
 analysis of official control procedures,
 interpretation of regulatory and technical documentation.

Teaching materials may include lecture slides, regulatory texts, scientific articles, and supplementary
educational resources.

Assessment methods

The verification and evaluation of learning is carried out through an end-of-course exam. The end-of-course exam aims to evaluate the achievement of the main educational objectives of the course: (1) Correct use of food safety terminology and being able to express oneself properly; (2) apply the hygiene, health and animal welfare parameters set by the legislation; (3) assess the methods of slaughter of the main species of livestock animals; (4) be able to analyse production processes and correctly identify the critical issues of a process and the methods to ensure its management; (5) apply the basic principles relating to the inspection of products of animal origin.

The End of Course exam consists of a written test (a) and an oral test (b). The written and oral tests contribute 50% each to the final exam grade (100%) expressed out of thirty.

a) Written test
The main purpose of the written test is to evaluate whether the student has adequate knowledge relating to the contents covered in the course, and problem-solving skills. The written test is structured as follows:
- 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).
- The total duration of the written test is 45 minutes (approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds per question).
- The written test is closed book. During the written test, the use of support material of any kind such as textbooks, notes, IT media, etc. is not permitted.
Each multiple choice question has four alternatives and only one correct or most appropriate answer. The score can be 0 (zero) for an incorrect answer or 1 (one) for a correct answer. The answer not given is considered incorrect (score: zero). The grade of the written test (score obtained based on the number of correct answers out of 30 available expressed in thirtieths, for example, a student who achieved a score of 24 correct answers out of 30 will receive a grade of 24/30) will be averaged with the score of the oral exam to obtain the score of the End of Course exam.

b) Oral test
The purpose of the oral test is to verify the learning of the basic notions and the student's ability to apply their knowledge to make the necessary integrated logical-deductive connections.
The oral test is based on questions taken from at least two topics covered during the lectures. The student is asked to contextualize the topics and analyse the reasons that make the application of a certain rule necessary. The teacher can use teaching aids such as images to contextualize the exam question. The criteria for evaluating the acquisition of knowledge/skills are: i) understanding of the student with respect to the individual topics required; ii) ability to connect and compare the different aspects and contents covered; iii) ability to apply theoretical knowledge to a food inspection context; iv) presentation skills and language skills.
The evaluation is expressed with a mark out of thirty for the oral exam. The oral test is passed with a grade of at least 18/30.
Oral exam grade standards:
- A very in-depth knowledge of the topics addressed in the course, together with high critical analysis and connection skills and a sure mastery of specific terminology and excellent practical skills will be assessed with the maximum score (30-30L).
- An in-depth knowledge of the topics addressed in the course, together with good analytical and critical skills and the possession of a secure command of specific terminology and good practical skills will be assessed with good grades (27-29).
- Technically adequate preparation and sufficient analytical ability, even if not particularly articulated, expressed in correct language and discrete practical skills, will produce discrete evaluations (23-26).
- Sufficient preparation and analytical ability, expressed in a barely formally correct language and sufficient practical skills, will determine sufficiency (18-22).

How the final exam grade is made up:
The weight of the different parts for the achievement of the training objectives is represented as follows:
- 50%: written test result (score of the written test expressed in thirtieths).
- 50%: oral test result expressed in thirtieths.
Please note: The oral test is passed with a grade of at least 18/30. The End of Course Exam (written test and oral test) is passed with a grade of at least 18/30. The student has the right to refuse to have the grade of the proposed End of Course Exam recorded, but will have to repeat the End of Course Exam in its entirety (written test and oral test). The teacher taking the minutes is Prof. Alessandro Seguino.


Students with DISABILITIES or DSA will have to contact the teacher to have adjustments to the teaching during the lesson or in the final evaluation phase. They will do this by e-mail, entering in the C/C the reference staff who follow them in the faculty.

Teaching tools

The teaching material consists of current legislation, the material made available to students via the website, and a collection of technical and scientific documents made available to the teacher and aimed at carrying out theoretical and practical lessons and in-depth study.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Seguino