Food Safety in the Dairy Sector
Course location
Online and University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Purpose
The goal of this course is to build on the experience from the Danish dairy sector and the food authorities in Denmark, use the information to evaluate local food chains spanning from primary production to final product, and implement the knowledge and experience from the Danish experiences into dairy farming and dairies on a global level.
The overall focus of this course is for the participants to acquire in-depth knowledge about the factors affecting milk production, cattle health, safety and quality of milk and the measures by which this can be achieved.
The course will focus on good hygienic practice in farming, milk production and processing, and will include both identification and prevention of chemical and biological hazards associated.
By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:
- Critically evaluate the dairy production chain and pinpoint weak points that can be integrated as critical control points in own control programs.
- Have knowledge of surveillance programmes and the methods that are used for detection and tracing of pathogens and toxins
- Have knowledge of mitigation measures to be applied in the dairy food chain
- Communicate with and influence farmers, authorities, and others of relevance to local dairy industries.
Content
- Learning by seeing: The course will involve visits to a dairy cow farm, a dairy related company, and industries related to dairy farming.
These visits will provide the course participants with information and first-hand experience of how the Danish dairy industry has become a success, and how challenges are handled all the way from the farm to the quality of the final products. In addition, the course will have a series of highly relevant lectures on for example hygiene in the dairy industry, mastitis and other infections affecting lactation as well as on state-of-the-art methods in detection and surveillance. - Learning by doing/applying: There will be a focus on solutions to dairy challenges that may be implemented locally, and the role of the authorities in the process. Some of the topics will be supported case work and others by enactment sessions for example to visualize the role the authorities.
- Learning by example (Peer learning) / Translate learning into action (Action Plan): During the course there will be cases related to the course topics, which are intended to give the course participants the possibility to translate the acquired knowledge to a similar type of problem and develop solutions using the tools and information provided in the course.
- Passing on learning: Lastly, the course participants will be requested to reflect on how the principles and knowledge acquired in the course can be translated to national settings. To this end, presentation and communication skills will be trained.
Target group
The course will target 22 participants. Participants must be related to the Danish Strategic Sector Cooperation (either directly or indirectly). The course is highly relevant for a diverse group of professionals with an interest in the overall subjects, including universities, public authorities and private companies. Participants must as a minimum have a bachelor degree in a relevant field and must have a good command of English.