Hygiene and nutrition fundamentals

The course aims to provide students with the methodology of operational teaching, specific concepts and tools of nutritional surveillance based on standards of European and / or national projects; to prepare students to critically assess the results of surveys, to register and evaluate data sources for recommendations and interventions of public health for primary and secondary prevention of diseases associated with nutrition.

The course aims to build on the basic knowledge of food safety, deepening the strategies and the methods to achieve the best results in protection against contamination risks from. It will present the main methods used for the protection of consumers' health from farm to fork at European and national level. At the end of the course student will be able to identify the risks associated with the contamination of the food chain and to reading the results of studies reported in the literature for an assessment of public risk. 

The course includes lectures (4 CFU, 28 ore) in which continuous interaction with the students is encouraged and other activities (2 CFU, 28 ore) with exercises in the classroom and in the laboratory to develop the ability to apply the knowledge acquired during the course.

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.
 



 

Diet and health, issues and methods, from epidemiology to prevention of nutrition-related diseases. Models and tools of nutritional epidemiology. Diet and cancer, the evidence. Diet and reproductive health, the evidence. Recommendations. Methodological approaches. Nutritional epidemiology: definitions, objectives, methodologies and tools. Nutritional surveillance. Dietary assessment instruments. Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics.

Food security: definition and objectives; strategies, methods and results. Health, nutritional and organoleptic quality. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Union Alert Systems. The main contamination of the food chain and their impact on population health. The scientific evidence, advice and communication on existing and emerging risks in the food chain. HACCP, self-control and food safety implementation. CNSA and consumer health. The hygiene package and overall quality. 

1. G. Gilli. Professione Igienista. Manuale dell'Igiene Ambientale e Territoriale. CEA Ambrosiana

2. Galli, Bertoldi. Igiene degli alimenti e HACCP. EPC Libri, Roma 2012.

3. Carlo Correra, Corinna Correra. Sicurezza alimentare. Tecniche nuove, Milano 2012. 

 During the course other texts and documents, mostly in English language, will be recommended

Written test with multiple choice and open answer questions

Oral exam

The written and oral tests will both contribute to the determination of the final grade. The highest grade will be assigned to the student who has demonstrated mastery of the topics, skills relate to the acquired knowledge, expository skills and mastery of the disciplinary lexicon.

Verification of learning can also be carried out electronically, if the conditions require it.

The ten WCRF  Recommendations for Cancer Prevention. Nutritional surveillance tools.

The Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ):

a) are questionnaires in which subjects report their exact consumption in the 24 hours prior to the interview

b) are questionnaires that collect information on lifestyles

c) they are useful in evaluating the long-term diet of several hundreds or thousands of individuals

d) are questionnaires in which the subjects report the foods and drinks they consume prospectively in the days following the interview

e) None of the above