MScAdvanced Food Safety
The world’s food supply is reducing, its production is under increasing pressure, and so safety issues are more likely to arise. The MSc in Advanced Food Safety is tailored towards students who aim to work within the agri-food industry and related sectors, offering a unique qualification in the fields of food safety and food integrity.
Taught by world leading research staff at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), the programme focuses on new and emerging issues threatening our food security. Concentrating on new developments in analytical approaches used to monitor and regulate food safety, authenticity and security, you will gain practical experience in the use of conventional and emerging state of the art bioanalytical technologies.
- Entry requirements
- 2.2 Honours degree or above in a relevant area of science or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.
- English language requirements
- An IELTS* score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component. *Taken within the last 2 years.
- Tuition fees
- £20,800 / ¥189,260
Course Content
Core topics covered will include food authenticity and traceability; chemical/ biological hazards in animal feed and human food; and current and emerging analytical technologies to prevent food safety and food fraud incidents. This content will be delivered through a number of defined modules fully assessed by continuous assessment:
Advanced Food Bioanalysis
Students will gain insight into the principles behind a range of analytical tools used in food analysis through lab-based practicals.
Agri-food Traceability and Fraud
Covers the various forms of food fraud which are prevalent at a global level. Students also assess potential impacts which incidents related to intentional and unintentional compromising of food chain integrity have on consumer confidence and food company survival.
Bio-entrepreneurship and Advanced Skills
Designed to provide realistic challenges that confront biologists, biotechnologists and food scientists during their day-to-day activities throughout their career.
Food Safety, Health and Disease
Students will explore various biological and chemical agents potentially present in animal feeds and human foods and examination of associated links of their exposure to human health defects and disease progression.
Foundations for Research in the Biosciences
Introduces students to the process of designing and planning a research project including all associated aspects such as: formulating hypothesis; designing experiments; budgeting; and assessing the potential impact of research.
Literature Review
The aim of this module is to establish the knowledge and skills required to develop, plan and undertake a substantial piece of selfdirected critical scientific writing/project work within the field of food safety.
Research Project (triple module)
This programme culminates in a three-month, full-time, intensive research project in a laboratory at Queen’s and is delivered and supervised by research-active IGFS staff.
Available facilities and capabilities for students include:
- GC, HPLC and UPLC separation platforms
- ICP, IR, qToF and QqQ mass spectrometers
- Microbiological research facilities
- Antibody production and biomolecule binder development
- Cell culture suite and bioanalytical assay detection systems
- NMR, NIR and Raman spectrometers
- Proteomic and metabolomic profiling tools
- RT-PCR, transcriptomic profiling, Nextgeneration sequencing
- Multiplex biosensor platforms and LFD development
Related courses
Applications open
Why Queen's
A major component of this degree will involve the completion of a laboratory-based, food safety related research project supervised by a research-active member of academic staff within the Institute, offering the opportunity to gain practical experience in the use of conventional and emerging state-of-the-art bioanalytical technology used within the field of food security and food safety.
Careers
The IGFS has strong links with industry and collaborates with a wide range of companies and government bodies. With the ever-increasing focus on the safety and security of animal feed and human food supply and provision, excellent opportunities exist for graduates of the programme.
Past graduates have gone on to employment in:
- Local and international agri-food industry sectors
- Diagnostic service provision companies
- Research and regulatory analyst laboratories
- Further research, e.g. PhD-level study
