Ateneo - UPO

The course will deal with the description of microrganisms responsible for human intoxications or used for food manufacturing. Moreover, the course aims to provide students with specialized skills concerning the food safety guidelines.

Stephen J. Forsythe
“The Microbiology of safe food” (second edition)
Ed.: Wiley- Blackwell

Building a mental model that allows understanding, having acquired the morphological, structural, biochemical and pathogenic characteristics of microorganisms, the mechanisms of action underlying the pathogenesis and the identification techniques currently used in the microbiology laboratory.

The student should have knowledge of cell biology and general microbiology.

Lectures will be held with slide presentations and multimedia material. All the slides will be available to the students on the DIR platform. This material is to be considered integrative of the textbook and never its substitute.
The course includes visits to companies and analysis laboratories.
Reading, discussion and presentation of scientific articles.

In itinere exams are not planned.

The exam is a written test, where the knowledge acquired by the student is evaluated. The exam consists of 6 open questions.
5.5 points are assigned to each question; the written test is considered passed if the overall score is not less than 18 points. The score will be numerical and will progressively go to a maximum of 30 Laude (33 points), depending on the knowledge level of the student. During the written test it is not allowed to consult any microbiology texts.

Brief review on human microbioma and microorganisms used for food production.
Foodborne and waterborne pathogens responsible for human intoxications:
Bacteria: Campylobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia Coli, Shigella, Staphylococcus Aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium Difficile, Bacillus Cereus, Vibrio Cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus, Brucella..
Virus: Hepatitis A virus, Hepatitis E virus, Rotavirus, Enterovirus, Norovirus.
Parasites: Anisakis, Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia Lamblia, Taenia.
Toxins: Aflatoxins.
Prions
Food safety guidelines (HACCP)
Methods of detection and characterization of foodborne and waterborne infections.

Acquisition of in-depth knowledge about microbiology in the nutrition field. Acquisition of an appropriate scientific language. Ability to use the supplied material for a critical and reasoned study.